Coming Home
by CornCob
Summary: After leaving seven years ago, Cloud returns to his hometown and old friends. Between an overprotective best friend, Reno's mouth, and Zack, it's amazing Cloud can make it through the day. A Cloud/Zack AU written for Sleighbells. Hints of Seph/Vin


Disclaimer: Don't own FF, KH or any of it's characters, Spider Man, Over the Hedge, Cyndi Lauper/her musical stylings, Oreos, KFC, McDonalds, Krystal, Bedazzled, or anything else I may have mentioned here to which the rights I do not own.

A/N: So at exactly 40 pages, this is what has been keeping me from updating the German story. This is a trade-fic with Sleighbells, for which I was return-gifted a story called "The Creamery." It's the most awesome story on earth, and I could dance gaily for hours at the immense joy it brings me! I even saw fit to involve the Creamery work setting in this story, though the business it's self is the only thing the two stories have in common, really. There is a little bit of Tifa bashing, but really now, it isn't my fault; I really don't think Reno or Seph would like her!

Hope you enjoy this, as I really don't know how it went this far…40 pages is WAY too long…

One last thing: I went beta-free on this one, only having proof read it myself…so Yea. There are BOUND to be 9384 errors…please excuse [my dear Aunt Sally.

**_33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33_******

It wasn't everyday that a boy turned seventeen years old, and it certainly wasn't everyday that Zack Fair did so either. It was a difficult thing, being best friends with Zack, when you weren't the most outgoing of people. He was the kind of person who everyone wanted to be around, and if you weren't the type to butt your way in, it was hard to keep your ground.

Cloud watched as Zack happily accepted gifts in front of a large group of friends, sighing as he craned to see from his position at the end of the table. He had been sitting next to the raven haired boy when the event started, Zack had made sure of this, but the minute he left for a second slice of cake, he had lost the spot to a giddy Yuffie. He was sure Zack was all too caught up playing for the crowd to take any real notice yet, and Cloud couldn't blame him; the boy was preoccupied. He understood. He tried not to feel envious as Yuffie burst into laughter at Zack as the boy opened a box containing a few pairs of feminine undergarments and the way she dropped her chuckling head against his shoulder. He also tried to ignore the way Zack held up his gift proudly to the boy sitting on the other side of him. Sephiroth only rolled his eyes at Zack before stiffly shoving another box his way, pretending not to see Zack's mock-hurt expression. From his end of the table, Cloud couldn't help but feel very alone. Yes, it was very difficult to be best friends with Zack, and even more so when you were secretly in love with him.

It had taken a while for everyone to clear out, Yuffie leaving first, dragging Tifa and Aeris with her. After them it had been Vincent who'd excused himself, which Cloud was a little disappointed with. Vincent had been the only person Cloud had really talked to for the duration of the birthday party, as he and the dark haired boy had more in common than they let on. Vincent had long harbored deep feelings for Sephiroth, so both boys felt a connection in the fact that they both wanted the two people they could never have.

Much to Cloud's discontent, it was Reno and Sephiroth who took the longest to leave. It wasn't that he didn't _like_ the two of them; it wasn't that way at all. Cloud just never felt comfortable with Reno's constant teasing. He knew he shouldn't take the words the crude redhead said to heart, but sometimes he couldn't help it. When Reno joked about the meek blond being a love sick puppy for his blind best friend, he had no idea just how close to home he was actually hitting. Or maybe he did. Cloud didn't like to think about that part.

Sephiroth was…well... It had taken a long time for Cloud to admit it to himself, but his only problem with Sephiroth was that he was unbearably jealous of the man. Zack had had a bit of a crush on the silver-haired boy for quite some time now, and made no real show to hide it. Something about his cold, cruel-witted nature seemed to draw Zack to him, though he never showed any sign of returning the feelings. It was also for that that Cloud resented him. He had the affection of such a wonderful person, and yet he did nothing but throw it back in his face. What he wouldn't have given to have Zack look at _him_ that way. It wasn't fair.

Sitting at his end of the table wrapped up in his thoughts, Cloud was given quite a scare when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Whoa! You all right there, Cloud? Where have you been, anyway?"

Large blue eyes lifted to Zack's curious face, Cloud's thin lips forming a small frown.

"I've been right here, Zack. The whole time."

Zack winced with a guilty expression as Cloud's words registered in his mind, only then realizing that he hadn't paid any attention to the blond for the entire party. While it seemed like it wasn't a big deal, since they were all part of the same friend group, Cloud just wasn't…as close to them as Zack had thought. The blond was just too shy, seeming to only really open up to Zack himself.

"God, Cloud, I'm sorry, I totally didn't notice. I was—"

Cloud stood quickly, lifting a hand to signal silence.

"It's okay Zack, I understand. Now let's clean the yard up before your mother kills you. You do want to reach _eighteen_, don't you?"

It hadn't taken them as long as they'd thought to get the yard back into shape. Luckily, their friends weren't messy people, at least not to the point of being rude. Well, except for Reno, but that was to be expected. The boy just really lacked all social graces.

"I'm gonna go throw this bag in the trash; I'll be back in a second!"

Cloud nodded distractedly as Zack dragged the large trash bag into the house. He looked out over the nicely sized yard, his eyes falling on a rickety swing set. Zack's father had built it for him when the boys were about six years old. Since he had passed away, no one in the Fair home had the heart to remove the thing, though it was practically condemned by now. Smiling as he reminisced on the first day Zack had been given the swing set, Cloud walked over to it, yanking on the chains to test its hold before deeming it safe and sitting down. He could practically hear Zack's mom yelling at his dad when Zack had fallen off of it and broken his arm after only having had the thing for twenty-four hours.

He looked up when he heard the door swing shut, watching as Zack tossed him a smile from across the yard, making his way over. Cloud couldn't help but feel warm at the grin.

Quickly reaching Cloud, Zack took a seat on the neighboring swing, though he was much less cautious about it. The two sat together in silence for a few moments, Zack at peace and Cloud at war.

"Zack?"

"Yea?"

"I want to tell you something…"

"Kay."

Cloud slowed his swing to a stop, dragging his feet and staring at them as he shifted them in the sand. He tried to keep the quake out of his voice as he chose his words carefully.

"For a while now I…um. Zack…"

The raven haired boy looked at the blond curiously, though if one looked closely enough they could see the dread written in his violet eyes.

"I really…like you. You know, that way."

A false smile spread over Zack's lips.

"Well I like you too, Cloud."

The blond's heart skipped a beat while Zack's ached at what he was about to say. He didn't want to hurt Cloud, he just didn't _like_ him. He also didn't want to lose such a close and cherished friend over something as petty as acrush, one that Cloud would grow out of in no time at all.

"Well yea, you're my best friend, Cloud. I wouldn't change that for the world." He offered a smile.

"But I'm glad to know you feel the same, I was beginning to worry that you didn't like me anymore."

Cloud felt his heart break as Zack joked, knowing full well that the dark-haired man had known what he had really been trying to say. It hurt that Zack didn't feel anything for him, but it hurt worse for Zack to pretend to misunderstand the statement, playing it off as meaning something else. It was like having everything thrown back in his face. He had gone out on a limb, gathered the courage to confess something he had been harboring for a long time now, and Zack didn't even have the decency to reject him properly. With a numbness quickly filling his body, Cloud stood from the swing and took a few steps forward before turning his head slightly to talk back to his friend.

"Well hey, I need to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Zack stared regretfully at the blond's back, wondering just how badly he had injured his feelings. Sighing, he halted himself on the swing and bowed his head.

"All right, man. Thanks for helping me clean up. I'll see you tomorrow."

Looking up he saw that Cloud had already almost reached the gate to the backyard.

"Call me later, kay?!"

If the blond heard him, he showed no sign.

Emotions boiled inside of him and tears threatened to fall from behind his eyes as he walked home. He could not believe that Zack would be so cruel. He would have preferred the boy look him in the eye and flat out tell him he wasn't interested. In the back of his mind, he questioned whether or not he would have handled that just as badly. By the time he reached his front door, his face was bright red, but not with exhaustion.

"Cloud, honey? Are you okay?"

The blond looked up with glassy blue eyes to his concerned mother, trying to smile before his trembling lips curled tight and the first tear fell.

"Can I live with Aunt Gloria?"

_**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**_

"What? What are you talking about?" The twenty two year old blond pulled the phone away from his ear to look at it strangely, as though the person on the other end would see his expression. Jolting to awareness as he nearly ran a red light, Cloud shook his head and returned the phone to his ear.

"Oh stop. I'm going to be fine. Jesus, you'd think you were in love with me or something."

Cloud smirked against the receiver as he braked at a familiar stop sign.

"Whatever, Leon. I'll see you in a few days."

Cloud hung up the phone and dropped it onto the seat next to him, bringing his arms forward to fold on the steering wheel as he continued to sit at the stop sign. There were no cars coming in either direction, but he took a moment to take in his surroundings.

To think, it had been seven years since he had been back here. Looking around at his old neighborhood, Cloud smiled. He didn't think he would ever look forward to coming back here, but he had really missed this place. Shaking his head, Cloud let his foot off the break and moved it to the gas, looking about curiously as he drove passed houses he hadn't seen in ages, surprised to see some completely redone while others were exactly as he remembered them.

The small smile on his face grew guiltily wider as he pulled up in the driveway of a pale blue house, allowing himself a small chuckle as he watched the quick movement through the front windows. He had called about a half and hour out and informed his mother that he was coming home to see her. It would be the first time he'd seen her since she came to visit him four years ago, and it would seem that she was excited to see her "precious little boy" again. They had kept in touch over the phone, but it was just different to see her in person.

As he twisted the keys out of the ignition, he was startled when a high pitch squeal erupted just outside of his car, his door being pulled open and the smiling, aged face of his overjoyed mother greeting him before he could even get out of the vehicle.

"Cloud! Oh my goodness, look at you! You've gotten so handsome! Oh, my little boy is finally home!" Cloud raised an eyebrow, though unable to fight the smile from his face as he watched his mother fawn over him, wrapping his arms around her as she drew him in for a large, long-awaited hug.

Over his mother's high pitched rambling, Cloud was barely able to hear the other delighted shriek that sounded over his left shoulder. It wasn't until he felt a weight on his back that he jumped, turning to see another face from the past staring back at him with wide green eyes. He offered his old neighbor a smile.

"Hey Aeris."

He winced as she released a sound that could rival a steam whistle and she clamped her hands over her mouth to contain her excitement.

"Is that really you Cloud?! Oh my gosh! It's been so long! We missed you so much! You look so different!" She rambled on before looking to Cloud's mother, suddenly taking a few deep breaths and looking sheepishly at the ground.

"I'm sorry Ms. Strife, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just got excited."

Cloud's mother smiled kindly at the pretty brunette, wrapping an arm around Cloud's waist.

"Oh, it's all right Aeris. Cloud hasn't seen you guys in ages." She pretended to sigh dramatically.

"I realize I'm just the mom, and I should know my place. Cloud, honey, go see your friends, I'm sure they've missed you."

Cloud looked confused.

"But mom—"

"Don't worry, honey, I'll be here when you get back."

The blond gave his mother a grateful look, before forcing a skeptical look at the amazed girl next to him.

"Oh Cloud, everyone is going to be so happy to see you! We've missed you so much, and look at you!"

She took in the thin man standing beside her, his stance displaying a confidence she had never known him to have. His face held a curios smirk as he took him in, one that conveyed a clever, possibly cruel sense of humor. Cloud Strife was an entirely different person.

She realized he was waiting for her to say or do something and she shook her head, pulling out her phone with one hand while she grabbed Cloud's wrist with the other. The blond waved back awkwardly to his mother as he allowed himself to be dragged over to the car in the neighboring driveway. She waved back, even blowing him a kiss as she closed his car door that he had forgotten all about, turning to make her way back to the house.

He felt a little guilty about leaving, though he didn't have time to dwell on it as he heard Aeris chatting happily to someone on the phone.

"Yes, Tifa! CLOUD! He came home! No, I don't know if it's for good. No. Tifa-..Tifa-…..TIFA! I don't know!" The brunette blushed as Cloud regarded her outburst with a surprised, doubtful expression.

She shrugged helplessly asshe covered the mouth piece and mumbled a quiet sorry.

"Yea, so just, you know, get everyone together! We can meet at Cid's house! Okay, see you soon! Bye!"

Now Cloud looked genuinely confused.

"Who is Cid?"

He didn't know how he felt about lingering in a stranger's house, or if that person would appreciate a reunion taking place for some kid he didn't know.

"Oh, he's a teacher the boys had senior year. I think he taught auto-shop or something 'manly,' as they call it." She rolled her eyes.

"He used to buy beer for Reno and Zack, and apparently you can't break that bond. Needless to say, they adored him. I guess after high school they just didn't see why they should part ways." She shrugged, looking embarrassed by her own friends.

"Reno practically lives there now. Poor Cid."

"Yea, poor Cid." Cloud agreed.

He didn't know the guy, but he did remember Reno. Quite well, he might add. If the red head was at all as boisterous as he used to be, he didn't know who could handle the man full time. He got the feeling that Reno wasn't one of those two calmed with age, either.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he almost bashed his head against the dashboard; Aeris yelping as she slammed on the brakes.

"What the hell was that?!" The blond demanded, rubbing his neck where the seatbelt had nearly decapitated him.

"Sorry…squirrel."

Cloud stared quizzically at the now nervous girl as she resumed driving. It was then that he realized just how much he had missed these people.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

It took a little longer than he had expected to reach Cid's house, though when they made it he could see what appealed so heavily about the man to Zack and Reno. Stepping out and slamming the car door, Cloud looked out at the cluttered yard. Luckily, the man lived in the middle of nowhere, as Cloud couldn't imagine the neighborhood society approving of this. The entire lawn was littered with large, unidentifiable hunks of mechanical apparatus, cars, and old trucks. From around the corner, Cloud could see what looked suspiciously like the tail of a plane peeking out from behind the house. The whole lot smelled vaguely like oil and petroleum.

He had to admit, this looked like Reno's dream home. If you trashed the place, no one would notice. Or that's what he figured until he heard a gruff yell.

"Reno, get yer ass off that couch and clean that up, ya punk! If I'm gonna let you waste my time stayin' here, then yer gonna take care of yerself."

Aeris smiled as she grabbed Cloud's wrist again, leading the blond to believe that he no longer possessed the frame of mind to walk himself.

"They must be out back." She explained.

Nodding, Cloud allowed himself to be led around the corner, revealing the back of a tattered couch on the back patio. It struck him as odd, really, that someone would just have a sofa standing along in the backyard. Then again, looking around at the rest of the place, it didn't really look so out of place. He even decided he kind of liked it.

"Yea, whatever old man. I'll get it later. You just keep wrenching at that piece of shit til it works. We'll see which one happens first."

Cloud heard the sharp voice from couch, assuming that he was hearing Reno. Well, he was right. He hadn't changed much. Looking around he spotted a pair of jean clad legs sticking out from beneath a beat up Honda.

"Reno?"

There was silence for a second after Aeris' inquiry.

"Aeris?"

Cloud almost laughed at the bright red head that popped over the back of the couch to peer curiously at him. The man's bright green eyes went first from the girl then to Cloud, filling with confusion before realization set it.

"Holy _SHIT_! Cloud fucking Strife?! No way!" Reno jumped up, not taking the time to walk around the couch and instead leaping over it, walking briskly closer to the blond and brunette.

"I see you're still as vulgar as ever, Reno." Reno looked shocked at the Cloud's cool words, torn between the boys surprising attitude and his 'new look.' Never one for personal space, the red head brought his hands up to grasp Cloud by the shoulders, holding him at arms length.

He was silent for a second, just looking him up and down before a sly smirk spread over his lips.

"Daaaaaaaaamn."

Cloud smirked, shrugging backwards out of Reno's touch.

"Hello, Reno."

The red head shook his head, still staring at the blond, not seeming to have heard the greeting.

"Zack is gonna be _so_ pissed."

Cloud raised an eyebrow as Aeris smacked her hand against her own forehead.

"Reno, please. He just got here."

"Aw, come on babe. I'm just saying. I'd be pissed too if I turned _this_ down."

Aeris placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Cloud. You remember Reno. He hasn't gotten much better since you last saw him. He's still a pig."

Cloud smirked.

"I wouldn't have expected any less from him."

Reno clapped his hands together, bringing them to rest behind his head and a languid smile fell over his face.

"Body and an attitude. Jesus, Cloud, where did they send you? Reform school?"

Cloud rolled his eyes, following Aeris as she led him to the legs under the rusted Honda.

"Um, Cid?"

"What?! I'm workin here. If the fuckin house isn't on fire then I don't want to be bothered fer shit!"

Cloud's face scrunched up as Aeris backed up, folding her arms behind her back, a bit taken aback by the rude response.

"Don't worry, babe, I'll fix this."

Reno strolled casually along side the two before dropping to his knees, peering under the car.

"Yo, Cid? You know you just totally bitched out Aeris, right?"

"What? Aw, shit."

Cloud watched as a pair of filthy hands grasped the outside of the car, using his arms to pull the rolling flat board out from beneath, revealing an oil smudged, blond and grey man who looked to be in his late forties.

Standing, the older man kicked the rolling board back under the car and rested his arms on his hips absentmindedly as he thumbed the toothpick around in his mouth with his tongue.

"Sorry, Aer. I've been dealing with this jackass all day. Hope ya can forgive me."

The girl smiled and nodded, bringing her hands to motion towards Cloud.

"This is Cloud! Cloud, this is Cid!"

Cid looked the boy up and down before shaking his head, reaching in his back pocket for a handkerchief and rubbing his dirty forehead.

"Jesus. Another faggot."

Cid sighed exasperatedly and Cloud's jaw dropped. He was surprised first by the fact that the man had known just by looking at him, and also that the man would call him out on it.

Cid shook his head and tossed Aeris an apologetic look.

"I feel for you girls, you and Teef. All these men around you and they're all gay." He continued to shake his head, walking towards a screened door on the back of the house. Cloud and Aeris followed, being slowly pursued by Reno.

"Well kid, you're new, so I'll go over the rules. One- Don't make out in my house. Two-Try not to spill shit. Three-If you want something, get it yourself. Four-Stay out of the backroom. It's my bedroom and I don't want brats in it. Sound simple enough?"

Cloud nodded, looking around at the inside of the house. There was a gigantic television in the living room surrounded by more couches than Cloud had ever seen in one place at the same time. There were six of them in the room, as well as various chairs, footstools, and a recliner. There was also a beanbag up against the wall that looked as though it had seen better days. Actually, all of the furniture looked like it had seen better days. He gave the room a crooked grin before he turned to Cid who had just stepped behind a large built in bar. Looking at it, you could tell the man had installed the thing himself, but not because it didn't look good. No, the bar looked like the nicest thing in the whole house, and Cid appeared to be more than proud of it.

"Last rule. Drink all the beer you want. If you want liquor, you have to ask. I have some nice shit back here and I'd be pissed as all hell of one of you kids downed it."

Reno sauntered over and propped his hands up on the bar top, shifting his weight and pulling himself to sit on the smooth wood surface. The redhead pretended not to notice the older man's disapproving scowl. He clasped his hands together, bouncing them on his kneecaps.

"So when is everyone supposed to show up?"

Aeris shrugged helplessly, pointing towards the telephone.

"I dunno, Tifa said she was going to call everyone."

The red head made a face before rolling his eyes dramatically, slowly sliding himself off of the table.

"Aer, I tell you this every time." Reno started, shaking his head and reaching for the phone.

"If Tifa is in charge of inviting people, no one good shows up."

Aeris cocked her hip outwards, resting her hand on it.

"What do you mean 'no one good' shows up?"

Cloud chuckled at the sweet girl's attempt to look threatening, as the demeanor did not suit her personality well. Reno shrugged apathetically, dialing several numbers on the phone and bringing it to his ear.

Aeris shook her head, walking to stand nearer to Cloud. Cloud smiled at her, giving Reno a strange look as the red head perked up suddenly.

"Hey Seph! I don't guess Tifa called you, did she?" Reno rolled his eyes. "I didn't think so…Haha, no I wouldn't answer the phone for that dumb bitch either."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, not exactly overjoyed at the prospect of seeing Sephiroth again. For all he knew, the man was with Zack by now. Mentally smacking himself, he told himself that it shouldn't care about that anyway. If Sephiroth was with Zack, then who gave a fuck? Cloud didn't care what the dark-haired boy from his past did now. He was torn from his thoughts as Reno gave an obnoxious yet sinister laugh.

"Yea, yea, I know. Okay, well I'll see you in a few, man. Bye."

Reno flipped his phone shut, tossing a cheeky smile in Aeris' direction.

"Told ya." The smile moved to Cloud, growing wider.

"Man, we have so much to catch you up on."

Cloud rolled his eyes, though he couldn't deny that he was terribly interested.

"Yes, oh master of gossip. What earth shattering events have I missed?"

Reno ignored the sarcasm for the moment, instead flopping down on the recliner, giving Cloud a devious smile.

"Well, Zack and Seph hooked up. _That_ was interesting."

Cloud raised a nonchalant brow at the statement, ignoring the forgotten sting that buzzed through him at the thought.

Aeris gave Reno a particularly sharp glare.

"Reno, do you really think that he wants to—"Cloud raised a hand, shaking his head as he joined her on the overstuffed loveseat across from Reno's chair.

"It's fine, I don't care. I always knew they would end up together anyway."

Reno smirked knowingly at the blond before sending a mock look of exasperation in Aeris' direction.

"I'm glad you know what's goin' on, Spiky, however, if someone wouldn't interrupt, maybe you'd learn somethin."

Cloud leaned back against the couch while Aeris released a breath of defeat, tossing her hands up.

"Fine Reno. Just _twist_ the knife."

Cloud regarded the brunette dubiously.

"There's no knife to twist, Aeris. I'm not hung up on Zack anymore."

"It ain't _your_ knife I'm twistin'." Cloud turned his gaze to Reno once more, noting the cruel smile playing out on the redhead's lips.

"As I was saying. Zack and Seph hooked up. They kind of stumbled upon it, really, didn't realize their relationship would actually get serious."Cloud blinked, trying to suppress the sorrowful feelings rising in his chest. Why wouldn't their relationship get serious? Jesus, what were they, made for each other? They were probably married with seven adoptive children by now. Zack probably came home everyday with flowers for his one fucking true love—

"Yea, then Seph cheated on him. Kinda went downhill after that."

The redhead snickered and Aeris rolled her large green eyes as Cloud's own blue ones widened considerably, his whole body jolting at the revelation.

"What's the matter, not what you were expecting?"

Cloud's wide eyed stare continued as he numbly shook his head, trying to get over the shock of the statement. Sephiroth cheated on Zack?! He felt a rush of relief, as well as vindictive amusement wash over him. Served Zack right for being such a dick.

"How did he find out?" Cloud barely sounded out the question around a dazed smile, still trying to digest that someone would cheat on Zack.

"Well, see, he walked in on—"

Aeris stood abruptly, crossing the small space and giving Reno a quick smack on the head.

"Stop it, Reno. This isn't something that you need to talk about behind Zack's back. If Zack wants him to know all of the gory details, Zack can tell him."

Cloud withheld a laugh as Reno gave Aeris' arm a swift tug, pulling the thin brunette into his equally thin lap.

"You know I love it when you hit me, hot stuff."

Aeris spared Reno a disgusted look before indignantly removing herself from the grinning man's 'embrace.'

"As you can see, Reno is still Reno. Rude, disgusting, shameless, and willing to flirt with anything."

The redhead pretended to look hurt.

"You wound me, my love. All I ever try to do is please you."

"Yea, and everyone else in a two mile radius."

Cloud couldn't hide the wide smirk at the smug bite in Aeris' words, silently proud at the normally shy girl's wit.

Reno looked as though he were going to reply when his head jerked upwards and a smile fell across his face.

"Seph's here!"

Aeris gave him a confused look.

"How you can always tell, I will never know."

"Spidey senses, what can I say?"

Cloud vaguely heard the door push open, still trying to comprehend that Zack had been cheated on. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't believe it.

"Hey, where's your left arm?" Cloud shook himself out of his thoughts at the redhead's bizarre question, looking at Reno before looking back at the man who had just come through the front door. The tall silver haired man looked a lot like Cloud remembered him, though he had grown undeniably more attractive with age. A little part of him hooted in victory knowing that that had cheated on Zack.

"Left it at home. I'm afraid my dear arm had matters of it's own to attend to."

Sharp green eyes settled on Cloud.

"Good to see you, Cloud."

He gave the blond a smirk and Cloud responded with a tilt of his head.

"Hey."

"I don't get it!"

Cloud turned to Aeris, who was staring confused at Reno and Sephiroth.

"You guys always talk about Seph missing his arm. I don't get it!"

Reno shook his head and Sephiroth rolled his eyes, making his way over to the couches.

"You'll find out when you're older."

Reno snickered as Aeris stuck her tongue out at the silver haired man's response, shifting closer to Cloud and linking her arm through his.

"Fine, you two can be mean. I'm just happy Cloud is a decent person."

Sephiroth gave the blond smile as he stood behind the recliner that Reno was lazily sprawled across. A silence seemed to pass over the room until the redhead looked up, noticing that Sephiroth seemed to be waiting on something before he all but threw himself from the chair, taking up his new spot on the neighboring sofa. Cloud chuckled at Reno's immediate response; apparently that was Sephiroth's spot.

"So I was trying to tell Cloud the story of how you totally stabbed Zack in the back, but _someone_ said I couldn't talk about it out of his presence. But since you were, you know, there, that you could tell him."

Sephiroth raised a thin eyebrow as he frowned at the loud man next to him.

"_Someone_ was right."

Aeris shimmied her head, giving Reno a smug look.

"See."

Reno only rolled his eyes, flopping back against the couch.

"Fine. I guess we'll just wait until Zack gets here. I'm sure he'll love to hear the story again."

Cloud regarded the now grinning redhead strangely, wondering how on earth he managed to keep a constant friend base.

Sephiroth's frown deepened, glaring at Reno who was now facing away from him with his head leaned against the arm of the couch.

"You need to leave him alone. It's not nearly as entertaining for everyone else as it is for you."

Reno's grin widened as he stretched out his arms.

"Shoulda thought of that before ya fucked Vincent, huh buddy?"

"WHAT?!"

Three pairs of green eyes flew over to Cloud as the blond shouted, standing immediately from the couch. In his abrupt standing he had nearly ripped Aeris' arm off, though he didn't seem to notice.

"You cheated on Zack with _Vincent_?!"

Sephiroth's eyes slipped closed as a mirthless smile crossed his face.

"I did."

Cloud took a few moments of staring and blinking before settling back down in his seat, a shocked expression on his face. Who knew Vincentwould be a home-wrecker. The man must have changed since Cloud has seen him last, as the meek boy he remembered wouldn't have possibly been able to do that. He was about to question further when the front door flew open, smacking against the wall behind it.

After that, all he could hear were screams, and all he could feel were breasts.

"CLOUD! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE REALLY BACK!"

Cloud tried to understand what was going on as Tifa flew through the door, latching herself to him in an almost painful hug. After struggling for a few moments, Cloud relaxed his body, surrendering himself to the overexcited girls embrace.

"She missed you." Aeris said, nodding sagely next to them.

Cloud gave a lopsided smile. That smile slipped from his face however, as he looked over Tifa's shoulder at the open door. A petite girl he recognized to be Yuffie walked in, followed shortly after by the face he had been hoping and dreading to see since he walked away all those ages ago.

"Zack." The raven haired boy froze as the words pushed past Cloud's lips, a gigantic smile running across his face, though the guilt in his eyes was apparent.

"Hey, Cloud!"

Violet eyes drifted over Cloud's body, taking in ever change and development. It was hard for Zack to believe that this was the skinny little boy that used to demand they play monopoly every weekend. He was still skinny, and he was still little, but…Zack eyes continued to roam over the blond. It would have been easy for him to just say Cloud was sexy, but some how he didn't quite think that covered it. Jesus, what had he been thinking?

He continued standing in the doorway before he stumbled forward suddenly, losing his balance after being shoved roughly from the behind.

"Don't stand in the doorway, son."

Zack tried to regain his composure, not appreciating having his masculinity compromised in front of Cloud already. He rubbed his back, tossing the older man behind him a look, his eyes falling to the crate that had jabbed him in the spine.

"Thanks, Cid."

The greying blond nodded his head, smirking around his cigarette as he carried the plastic crate of assorted motor parts through the door.

"Yo, Zacko! Come over here quick!" Zack cringed as Reno bellowed his name in that all too familiar obnoxious 'this is going to be totally devastating to your self esteem' tone of voice.

"You gotta come see this! Our little Cloud here got hot!"

Zack chuckled, making his way over to the now quite populated living room. Tifa and Yuffie and somehow made room for themselves on the loveseat along with Aeris and Cloud, though the tranquil brunette had managed to hold on to her space next to the blond, despite Tifa's best efforts to finagle that spot for herself. The dark haired woman had taken to sitting on the arm of the sofa, doing her best to not pout. Zack almost felt sorry for her, should Reno notice her sulking. Passing behind her, he gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. He stood before Cloud, bearing his best smile.

"Been a while, huh Spike? You look good. I gotta say, you do look good."

Cloud was caught between grinning like an idiot and kicking the man before him in the shins multiple times.

"So." Zack said, almost nervously, which confused Cloud, because Zack didn't get nervous.

"Would it make me an asshole if I asked for a hug?"

Cloud's insides melted at the question, wanting so desperately to give in, but even though he didn't want to resent Zack for the past, he still didn't feel like he should just let him off the hook that easily. Slowly and stiffly, Cloud stood from his seat, his body a few inches from Zack's. Looking up into clear violet eyes, a cruel smirk fell over his lips.

"Yes."

Zack's jaw dropped and the complete rejection, watching in shock as the blond rolled his lean muscled arms around in a stretching motion before sitting down again.

"Ooooo!!! Totally burned you, man!"

Zack glared at Reno, wishing that there was some way he could strangle the redhead without looking like a total dickhead. He was blessed, however, as he watched Sephiroth lean over and extend a graceful arm to the side of the couch, clutching a good deal of Reno's hair and using it to hold his face against the cushion. He gave the man a grateful look, feeling slightly better as he watched the redhead struggle to breathe. Sephiroth dipped his head politely, a ghost of a smile tracing his lips.

Cloud watched the odd exchange, wondering why there wasn't a tangible animosity between the two of them. Unless Reno had been completely full of shit, there was no reason that those two men should even be in the same room together, let alone sharing friendly looks. Zack shook his head at the flailing redhead. Beside him, Cloud heard Tifa muttering under her breath about immaturity.

"Would you just stop? You're not making a good impression on Cloud."

Sephiroth removed his gaze from Reno and onto the bold woman. Upon reaching her, however, his eyes had lost their hint of amusement, taking on something more along the lines of annoyance. He didn't have to speak however, as Reno freed himself and spoke first.

"Shut up, Tifa, if Sep wants to smother me, then he can! Don't act all high and mighty because you've got breasts, you fat bitch."

The young woman's wine colored eyes doubled in size at Reno's comment, and Cloud couldn't believe his ears. No, he had no idea how Reno kept a regular friend base.

"Reno; calm down. Seph; thank you." Zack turned to Cloud, giving him an apologetic smile.

"So, bet you missed this, huh?"

"Oh yea, so much that he never visited before now."

Cloud smirked at Reno. The man always had something to say. Zack rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shut up, Reno." He looked around the area.

"Has anyone seen my chair?"

Cloud looked all around them, eyeing the numerous unoccupied seats around them. Apparently everyone had specifically assigned chairs in this house.

Sephiroth flicked his wrist in the direction of a far wall, Zack following the suggestion and a smile crossing his face.

When the dark haired man walked over, Cloud had to try very hard not to choke at what he was dragging back. It was the beanbag.

"What, did you lose a fight or something?"

Zack regarded Cloud in mock offense.

"No! I just like the beanbag. It means I can sit wherever I want, and I don't ever have to feel isolated."

Cloud was somewhat confused by the fact that Zack dropped the beanbag just to the left of Sephiroth's chair, wondering just why in the hell he would sit that closely to the man who screwed him over. It didn't make sense. Apparently Reno noticed his extreme confusion, seeing fit to bring light to the blond's life.

"What's wrong, Cloud? Didn't think Seph and Zack would get along?"

Zack's eyes widened and Sephiroth glared at the proud redhead, while Cloud gave a lopsided, almost guilty expression in Zack's direction.

"He told me that you two used to be together. And that…you know…"

Zack made a slightly confused, nervous face. He wasn't sure if they were thinking about the same thing, and on the off chance that they weren't he wasn't going to put it out there.

"What?"

Reno rolled his eyes, sitting up on the couch, both to be in a better conversational position and to be out of Sephiroth's reach.

"I told him Seph was fucking Vincent behind your back. I think he's a little…put off by the fact that you're too much of a pussy to actually stay mad about it."

Zack spun around on his heel, pointing an accusing finger at Reno.

"What the hell is your problem? Do you mind not trying to humiliate me for a little bit?"

Cloud had to stifle a laugh at the blank expression that fell over Reno's face. There was certainly something interesting about the interactions in this friend group. It would seem that only select people even liked each other, but even the ones who did didn't exactly get along. Zack gave a heavy sigh, seeing that he was getting nowhere with Reno. Sephiroth rolled his eyes and stood from the couch.

"Come along, Reno. Let's go out and get something to eat. I doubt Cid would appreciate us eating all of his frozen dinners." The last few words rolled off of his tongue with disgust, obviously not in agreement with Cid's choice of diet. Zack eyed Sephiroth with gratitude, receiving a knowing and humorless smile in return.

Reno smirked and stood up from the couch.

"All right, I fuckin love food runs. What's everybody want? Zack? Cloud? Aer? Yu--" Reno looked around, suddenly noticing that Yuffie didn't seem to be in the room. It made sense, he supposed, as it had been awfully quiet.

Tifa made a small indignant noise at being left out of the question, huffing and turning her head to the side.

"Aw, it's nothing personal Teef, I just thought you were watchin your weight and everything."

Sephiroth snorted in the back of his throat and Tifa jumped off of the arm of the couch. Zack brought a hand up to the side of his face and turned his head in attempt to hide the smile and silent laughter from the offended woman, while Cloud worked very hard to keep his expression neutral. Seeing that no one was going to say anything, Aeris unlinked her arm from Cloud's and stood up, taking Tifa by the hand.

"Come on, let's go get drinks out of the kitchen." The dark-haired woman nodded, tossing a glare at the redhead over her shoulder. It took everything in her power not to turn around as Reno made crashing sounds every time she took a step.

As soon as the women had left the room, Zack flopped down to the couch, cracking up.

Cloud finally cracked a smile as the watched the shaking man next to him and the smugly proud smirk rolled across Reno's lips.

"You know." Cloud started, regarded the redhead curiously.

"One day she's going to realize that she can beat the shit out of you."

A thoughtful light passed through Reno's cruel eyes, the corner of his lips pulling up as he considered Cloud's words.

"Bet she'd have a lot of chins from that angle."

The sound of shattering glass was heard from the kitchen, followed by a muffled engaged shriek.

Sephiroth shook his head and stepped around Zack's sprawled legs and Reno's slouching form.

"You can talk about this later. Let's go."

Reno grinned as Sephiroth walked past him, quickly darting off after him and falling into step beside him. They had barely reached the door when Cloud shot his hand up in the air

"I want tacos!"

Reno turned around swiftly, pretending to pull a pen from behind his ear and mock-writing on his palm.

"Taco's for the babe! Got it!"

Cloud laughed and waved them off from the couch before dropping his hand lazily into his lap, listening as the door clicked shut. Even through the closed door he could hear Reno's sharp voice and laughter, and if he strained, Sephiroth's low responses.

"God, Reno." Cloud shook his head, still staring at the closed door.

"That kid hasn't changed at all. Who knew someone like that could function this long in society?"

Zack snickered beside him.

"He only gets by with our help, I will tell you that. It's why we help him that I can't explain."

Cloud made a small sound, turning his head to regard the dark haired youth beside him.

"Is it true?"

Zack looked as though he might ask what Cloud was talking about, but in the end, decided there was no point in playing dumb. He sighed and sat back farther on the couch, tilting his body to face that of the blond.

"Me and Seph got together a while back. It lasted for a long time, it was going pretty good, ya know? I mean, looking back I don't think we love loved each other. Not like that. But I'm sure I thought we did at the time. Anyway, thought I would drop by early one day, surprise him, yea? Yea, well there was a surprise all right." Violet eyes rolled and a mirthless smile drifted over his face. Cloud shook his head, staring in disbelief.

"_Vincent_?"

"Vincent." Zack nodded in confirmation.

Cloud cracked a confused grin.

"Would have never seen that coming. Vincent had always had a crush on him, but I never thought he would do anything about it…"

Zack shrugged indifferently.

"Well, I guess he did." He laughed.

"Me and Seph had an awkward faze for a little bit…probably a week or so. Next thing I know, he's knocking on my door and we're playing speed Tetris until three in the morning. Now we're better friends than we've ever been…which is weird…Who knew an affair would make a friendship stronger?"

Cloud stared at Zack, wondering if Zack really meant what he was saying. Deciding that it was actually the truth, part of him realized that he was disappointed.

"Wow…that's kind of…pathetic."

A strange silence passed for a moment, Zack giving Cloud a stunned look.

"What?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow, wishing he wouldn't have let that slip. Oh well, it's not like he could take it back now. And besides, he was a little angry that Zack would just roll over and let something like that happen. This was Zack Fair he was looking at, and Zack Fair didn't get played. And if he did, he certainly didn't let it slide.

"I said it was pathetic."

"You think I'm pathetic? Let's talk about you, Cloud. Let's talk about how not-pathetic it is to run away, huh?"

Cloud's eyes narrowed, anger swelling through him and words rising in his mouth before he could stop them.

"I was young Zack, and maybe if you hadn't been such an asshole we wouldn't be ha—"

_"**Girls just wanna have fun! OooOOoh girls just wanna ha—"**_

Cloud hastily ripped the phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and slamming it shut in an instant, hanging it up to silence the obnoxious ring without breaking eye contact with Zack. Since the interruption, Zack's gaze had softened. With the phone back in place, Cloud continued to stare at the dark haired man, his own eyes losing their rage as well. Neither one of them had wanted to have this argument.

"…Nice ring tone…"

Cloud smiled gently.

"Thanks, it's Leo—" The blond froze, his mouth still holding its shape from the word as the reality of what he had just down sunk in. Cloud had hung up on Leon.

"Oh no." Zack looked confused as a look of absolute dread covered Cloud's face. With in seconds the phone was buzzing to life again.

_"**Girls ju—**"_

Cloud snapped the phone open, sucking in a breath to say 'hello' when the screen turned black, the phone's battery failing. The blond stared blankly at the phone for a moment before slowly folding it shut and sliding it into his pocket once more.

"Well, that's not going to end well."

Zack quirked a brow.

"Who was that?"

"That was Leon." Cloud said it with a sort of exhausted finality.

"He's my best friend at home…He's…an odd one."

The blond shook his head, staring at the lump of phone through his pocket.

"I'm sure he's having a heart attack right now. I suppose I could call him on another phone, but…" He shook his head, sighing and leaning back against the couch.

"I'll just deal with the consequences later."

Zack looked unconvinced.

"Consequences?"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "He'll probably make me take him to the mall."

Zack was about to question the nature of their 'friendship' when Tifa and Aeris rejoined them in the living room, bringing with them a tray of cups and a few bottles of soda.

"We brought drinks!" The two girls set the items on the coffee table and Tifa took a seat while Aeris tottered back into the kitchen. The dark haired girl smiled at Cloud.

"She's going to try and find some sort of snack before the "men" come back with the food." Tifa rolled her eyes and Cloud smiled at the mental image of Reno and Sephiroth dressed in animal hides as they stalked around a KFC. Zack nodded in agreement.

"They'll probably be gone for a while. Those two are pretty selective with their food runs. There's a reason they usually aren't permitted to go together."

Tifa rolled her large eyes.

"Yea, well, I figured today we could make the exception. Reno is so infuriating! And Sephiroth…" She released an angry sigh.

"I don't know what their problem is."

Zack was about to explain, and not for the first time, the endless list of reasons that Reno and Sephiroth did not like her when a cheery voice sounded from the kitchen.

"I found Oreos!"

Cloud held back a laugh at Aeris' call, picturing the girl fighting through shelves of preserved foods to find something suitable to eat. He almost thought of her in the animal hides as well, but decided against it.

"You need any help?" Zack leaned his head over the couch so his inquiry could be better heard by the brunette.

"No, I got it!"

Smiling, Zack stretched his neck and laid his eyes on Cloud once more. There was so much he wanted to talk to the blond about, so much that he wanted to learn and catch up on, but as he looked around, he knew that this was hardly the time.

"Kay! I got 'em!" Aeris nudged the kitchen door open with her hip as she returned with a bag of Oreos. She hurried over to the couch, taking her seat once more by Cloud's side. Zack was a bit envious about how closely the brunette was allowed to sit next to the gorgeous blond, but pushed the thought aside. Cloud didn't like girls….did he? A horrible thought crossed Zack's mind. What if his harsh rejection all those years ago had driven Cloud…straight? He cast a watchful eye over Cloud's small form, looking at every detail of the man as the blond leaned forward to grab an Oreo. Nah, he was still gay.

"Aeris!" Everyone's head lifted at the sneaky, high pitched voice.

"Look what I found!"

Yuffie came slinking around the corner, a rectangular object in her hand. Cloud squinted at the box, trying to decipher its identity. While he was unable to solve the mystery, it would appear the rest of the room had less trouble. Zack groaned and Tifa let out a small laugh, while Aeris jumped up from the couch with an ecstatic cry and ran over to the short haired girl.

"It's Aeris' favorite movie." Zack explained, sensing Cloud's confusion.

"Cid took it away from her when he caught her watching it on his TV. Said he had a "Man's TV" and that nothing below NC-17 was allowed to distort its pixels." Violet eyes rolled humorously.

"Let's put it in!" Yuffie whispered deviously. Aeris looked around conspiratorially before hurrying off to a window, parting the venetian blinds with her fingers and peeking through. Seeing two legs sticking out from under the old Honda, Aeris turned away and nodded.

"He'll never have to know."

"He is if you want to watch it. The only person other than Cid who knows how to run the machine is Reno, and he's not going to be much help if he isn't here."

Tifa mumbled something under her breath about the redhead being no help regardless of his location.

Cloud looked at the crestfallen look on Aeris' face.

"Are you guys serious? It's just a DVD player, how bad could it be?"

"Bad." The whole room answered at once, leading Cloud to be taken aback. He shook his head, and stood, walking over to the big screen. It was, indeed, a mess, as far as wiring was concerned. From the looks of it, the only real problem was finding which wire went to which piece of equipment and where.

"Give me the movie."

The brunette happily obliged, curious to see if Cloud would be able to crack the system. Glancing down at the movie in his hands, Cloud froze. His eyes traced over the words on the box, reading "Over the Hedge" with more than a little skepticism before shaking his head and reaching for a red tipped wire. Aeris sucked in a breath, and Zack made himself comfortable, content to watch the blond crawl around following color coded chords.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

As luck would have it, Zack wasn't kidding when he said that Sephiroth and Reno took ages to complete a food run. The pair couldn't have had better timing, in Cloud's opinion, as they pushed open the door just as the ending credits began to roll. While the movie had been questionable, it was worth it, though he wouldn't admit it, for all the giggling and joy the brunette girl next to him seemed to get out of it. That, and he couldn't help but find something endearing about an animal shoving Cheese-Wiz up his own nostrils. "All right!" Reno barked as he used a bony elbow to open the door further. 

"We've got McDonald's for you old school kids, Wendy's for anyone who just likes square patties, Krystal if you're only kinda hungry, KFC if you want to fight me for it, and taco's for that sexy thing on the couch."

Reno sent a saucy grin in Zack's direction before sauntering into the room, toting an arm full of bags. Behind him Sephiroth entered, a box of pizza in his clutches, and on top of it was a precariously balanced brown bag. Cloud looked disbelievingly at the massive amount of food the two men had delivered. It hardly seemed necessary, but then again, who knew how much these guys could pack away. His blue eyes looked up as he heard the door click shut, noticing a thin, dark haired man holding a cardboard tray of drinks, each matching the various fast food bags Reno had hauled in.

Crimson eyes met his and a small smile crossed over the man's thin lips.

"Hi, Cloud."

The blond smiled back, knowing the answer before he voiced the question, but feeling the need to ask anyway.

"Vincent?"

The raven haired man nodded gently, crossing the room to set the drinks down on the table. He stared at the tray he had just been holding for a moment before grabbing a particular drink and handing it to Tifa, giving her a small shrug before moving to sit near Cloud.

"It's nice to see you again. When you left I had to actually start talking to Reno." Vincent gave a small, jesting smile and Cloud smirked.

"Yea, sorry about that. Had I known he would have turned out to be such a prick I may have stuck around and saved you from that. Or at the very least dragged you with me. Not that you haven't done well enough for yourself, so I hear."

Vincent's eyes found the floor and a guilty smile etched itself on his lips. Cloud could tell the man was ashamed of what he had done, but not sorry.

"Well congratulations. I mean…wow. When I heard, I couldn't believe it! I mean, you just never seemed the type. And damn, I can't say you don't deserve it."

Vincent leveled a skeptical gaze at him.

"How do you know what I do and don't deserve?"

Cloud rolled his eyes, begrudgingly noting that Vincent was right. Bringing his hands to either side of his own head, he sprawled his fingers out, wiggling them and widening his eyes.

"I've developed psychic skills since you last saw me, Vincent Valentine." He smiled at the laugh that the thin man tried to withhold.

"Now be careful how you talk to me, or I just may curse your future. You wouldn't want what goes around to come around, now would you?"

That remark earned him a slight glare before Vincent grinned.

"Like I said, it's good to see you again."

Vincent dipped his head politely before standing from the seat, his eyes falling on Tifa, who had apparently just become very offended on the other side of the room.

"I'm going to watch, would you like to join me?" Cloud followed his eyes to the enraged young woman. Aeris was standing beside her with a worried expression on her face while Reno looked back at the shrieking woman innocently. Cloud smirked and stood, nodding and following the darker haired male across the room.

"Look, Tifa." Reno started in a laid back manner.

"I don't see what you're so mad about. Me and Seph got you that drink special, ya know? We thought you would prefer a diet soda, since you're…ya know…" Reno's hands, which were at his side, were brought to rise slightly away from his body as he puffed his cheeks full of air.

"Growing."

Wine colored eyes widened at the statement and gesture, though she didn't have time to respond.

"Here!" Reno said, jostling over to the table for the paper sack Seph had carried in.

"Maybe this will cheer you up! We got this special for you, too!"

Tifa glared at the redhead before she dared to open the bag. Her eyes fell upon what was inside and all of the anger in her died out. It just wasn't worth it to try and fight with this man. He was impossible.

"It's a salad." Tifa stated flatly. Reno beamed, looking awfully proud of himself.

"Yep! We just want you to know that we're here to help ya, no matter how chunky ya get!"

Cloud watched wearily as Tifa slowly turned and walked away. She appeared to have been headed for the kitchen before she heard Sephiroth's voice from the other side of the door and instead made her way back to the couch with Yuffie. The blond didn't understand why the woman got so worked up, since she didn't appear to have an ounce of fat on her. Unless, of course, you were talking about her breasts, but that seemed like..you know..the "good" kind of fatty tissue. He shook his head, sharing a look with Vincent before Aeris came over and leaned in to his shoulder, simultaneously lacing her fingers with Vincent's right hand. She was a very touchy girl, and Cloud, for some unknown reason, just couldn't bring himself to turn her away. There was just something so undeniably sweet about the brunette girl and he couldn't allow her friendly tendencies to bother him.

"What are you boys talking about?" She asked, her innocent eyes taking on a curious glint.

"You guys gossiping behind our backs?"

Vincent rolled his eyes good naturedly.

"We do not 'gossip,' Aeris, we merely discuss the behaviors and actions of those around us, and if they happen to be wearing an uncoordinated outfit, we can't help it if it gets mentioned."

Cloud turned a traitorous eye to the man.

"That sounds like gossiping to me."

Vincent smirked and shook his head, detaching himself from the girl's hand.

"I'll never admit it." He gave the pair a bemused glance before trailing off to the kitchen, leaving Aeris to Cloud. The brunette shook her head.

"He's weird."

Cloud made a thoughtful face before nodding in agreement.

"Yea, but…" He looked around at everyone else in the room.

"It's to be expected."

Cloud looked behind him to see Reno waving his arms about animatedly, telling some story or another that the blond was sure he wouldn't want to miss. Apparently it was about the time that Reno and Aeris were going to pick up Vincent from his mother's house, only to wind up crashing the car into a light pole on the opposite side of the road. Cloud wasn't surprised to find that it had been Aeris who was driving, and that her excuse was that there had been an animal in the road. In the end, Vincent had wound up having to call someone else to get him and then pick them up as well. The car was the one that Cid had been rammed beneath tonight and for the better part of three days now. He shook his head at the blushing girl next to him and nodded his head in their direction, leading her over to the rest of the group. It was when he reached them that he noticed that Zack had been staring at him.

As Cloud approached, Zack stood from his seat, motioning with his hands that the two could take his spot on the couch and situated himself on his old beanbag, angled so that it was across from Cloud.

The story telling went on for the greater part of two hours, all tales ranging from the time Zack threw up on Tifa in math class to the time Sephiroth was mistaken for a girl and scolded for entering the mens bathroom. Zack had just been giving a detailed blow by blow of the day that Aeris was accused of stealing when Cloud spared a glance at the clock. Reading that the time was two in the morning, the blond jolted out of his seat, causing the brunette girl who had passed out on his shoulder to fall over on the couch, though she remained asleep.

"You all right?" Zack asked, interrupting his own story when Cloud stood abruptly.

The blond gave the group an apologetic look before looking again at the clock.

"I told my mother I'd catch up with her tonight." He then remembered his dead phone and cringed.

"No telling how many times she's try to call me. I've been back home for less than a day and I'm already a shitty kid."

Zack nodded, disappointed that the blond had to leave but understanding of his reasoning. Family came first, that was a concept that any decent human being was ingrained with. There were exceptions, of course, like if your dad was…say, Reno or something. But that was beside the point.

"Yea, of course. Do you need a ride home?"

Cloud's first reaction was to give a hasty 'yes,' as over the past few hours of listening to Zack talk he hadn't been able to deny the return of some familiar feelings, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go there yet. He also knew that given the chance that he were alone in a car with the raven haired man, he may do something he would regret. Fortunately he was saved from a decision when Aeris groggily sat up, her sleepy green eyes blinking in attempt to focus.

"No, thanks though. Aeris drove me over here, and we're neighbors. It would be silly for you to drive me home when she's going to the exact same place."

In the back of his mind, Cloud realized that he must have been worn out, as he made it a point to leave the word "silly" out of his vocabulary.

Aeris shook her head, still looking vaguely disoriented.

"Oh, are we leaving? Okay, just let me get my things…" She yawned loudly and Reno looked to Cloud.

"Did you, like, miss the story with the car crash or something?"

Cloud gave the man a sardonic look.

"She got us here in one piece, I'm sure she can get us home."

Vincent gave Cloud a serious look.

"If you say so. I swore off driving with her after she re-ended an RV. Claimed she didn't see it." The man subconsciously rubbed his collar bone.

"Take my phone in case you guys veer off into a ditch...or an overpass. You know, should any small mammals be afoot on the roadway."

Cloud snickered and leaned to accept the cell phone being offered to him. He had to lean over Sephiroth's sleeping form, whose head had slumped over into Vincent's lap sometime ago. Apparently eating took a lot out of him. He had finished that pizza by himself, after all, and then taken Reno up on the fight for KFC. There was little doubt as to who the victor was.

"Thanks."

Vincent nodded, absentmindedly stroking the silver head in his lap.

"I'm sure I'll see you again soon to get it back, but if not just call Seph's number and I'll come meet you somewhere and get it."

Cloud nodded his thanks again and looked up to Aeris, who had just collected her jacket and had been saying goodbye to Cid.

Cloud looked about the room and gave a light smile.

"I guess I'll see you guys later. I'll probably be here for a week or so, I'm not sure yet."

Zack grinned at the blond and stood, walking the two to the door. Reno lifted a lazy arm in a half-ass wave goodbye, snickering as Zack watched Cloud walk out of the door longingly.

"Shut up, Reno." He didn't need to turn around to reprimand the redhead, and instead settled for watching Cloud climb into the passenger's seat of the vehicle. In his head he said a little prayer.

"You know, Zack." Zack turned around at Vincent's coy tone.

"He has my phone tonight."

Zack stared for a second before a satisfied smile spread over his lips.

He knew that number.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

The drive home had gone by mostly without incident, Aeris only having missed one and a half stop signs. The half being that she finally did stop in the center of the intersection; thankfully not many cars were out at 2:30 in the morning. Although he had promised her that the ten yard walk wouldn't kill him, the brunette had seen fit to pull up in his driveway and drop him off personally. Smirking and saying goodbye, Cloud shut the car door and watched as Aeris backed up and drove the short distance to her own driveway. His hand had just twisted around his door knob when he heard her whispered yell.

"Good night, Cloud!" The blond couldn't help but smile as he turned his head to see the girl waving to him from her door step.

"Goodnight!" he 'whispered' back, loudly enough to carry next door. Shaking his head, he pushed his door open and entered the house, closing it silently behind him.

He tiptoed through the front hallway, stopping in surprise to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table. She was wearing reading glasses and browsing through an old magazine that he was sure she had read a dozen times. On the table there were two glasses of steaming tea, and she regarded him over the rims of her spectacles with a smile.

"You too tired to talk?"

The blond smiled. He took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair and sat down with his mother. It was good to be home.

It was 6:19 in the morning, and Cloud had been asleep for all of two hours when he was awakened by the unwelcomed sound of his bedroom door crashing open and into the wall. He was actually pretty sure that, at that point, he would have been able to ignore the sharp sound and drift back into a peaceful slumber. And then he was tackled, and promptly hauled out of his bed.

"Cloud! Cloud what happened?! Were you hurt?!"

Given that he had only possessed two hours of sleep in his system, Cloud assumed he would be forgiven if he had no idea what was going on. Blinking heavily, blue eyes finally took in the face of a very concerned Leon a few inches from his own.

"Leon?"

The face held emotional desperation.

"Yes, Cloud! It's Leon! Are you well?" Each word was sounded out slowly, as though Cloud were a 97 year old, mentally handicapped amputee who only responded to the words "bargain," "nomad," and "parachute."

Idly, Cloud wondered why he would make such a comparison before he shook his head sleepily.

"No, I'm tired. Put me back in the bed." Cloud used his dwindling strength to pull his feet off of the floor, making himself deadweight in Leon's arms. Leon struggled and his footing faltered, resulting in the blond hitting the floor rather quickly.

Now fully awake and groaning miserably, Cloud cracked an angry eye at the worried man standing above him.

"What are you even doing here?!"

The brunet male dropped to balance on the balls of his feet, fixing Cloud with a concerned gaze. "You didn't answer your phone last night. I think you even hung up on me the first time. I thought something may have been wrong. Cloud, is there anything that I should know about? Anything you need to tell me? I'll listen, you know."

Cloud's eye twitched as Leon looked at him in complete seriousness.

"I'd like to know who let you in."

Leon looked confused for a moment before glaring down at the blond, part of him wondering why he was still staring up at him from the ground.

"Your mother let me in. Why haven't you gotten up yet? Did you break something? Are you okay? Do I need to get someone? An ambulance?"

Cloud watched as the brunet worked himself in a not so silent frenzy, Leon fretting over not knowing the number to any of the local hospitals. It was then that something dawned on him.

"You drove seven hours to a house you've never been to because I didn't answer my phone?" Leon nodded. Cloud took a moment to consider this.

"I didn't know I could feel so safe, yet so endangered at the same time."

Leon rolled his eyes and extended a hand down to Cloud, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled up. Standing and dusting himself of slightly, the blond gave his friend an undecipherable look before taking a seat on the edge of his bed, leaning and straining his fingers to reach a pillow that had been propelled out of the bed during the previous struggle.

"So…" Cloud broke from his words, grunting as he stretched as far as he could, his fingers just grazing the corner of the pillow. "What are you doing here?"

Leon eyed his friend dubiously, wondering why the blond wouldn't just give up and go get it, or better yet, why he hadn't grabbed it before he sat down.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were all right. You hung up on me and never called me back, so I just wanted to make sure you hadn't been kidnapped or something."

Cloud cut his eyes over to the brunet as he continued his attempt to reach the ever elusive throw pillow. He didn't even know why he had a throw pillow, it's not like he could sleep on it. He had tried to once, but he woke to find an exact replica of the beadwork pattern indented in to his face. Being called "Bedazzled" all day hadn't sat well with him.

Sensing that Cloud had no response to his obsessive, overprotective tendencies, Leon sighed, finding the sight of Cloud reaching for the pillow to be just a little pathetic. The kid had been reaching for an entire minute now, it should be clear to him that he just wasn't going to manage it. Shaking his head, Leon crossed the room, extending a booted foot to toe the pillow the extra few centimeters that Cloud's arm width required. Blue eyes looked up at him snidely through mess of blond bangs.

"I was going to get it."

Leon snorted.

"Yea… I could tell."

Cloud just rolled his eyes, tossing the pillow on to the heap of blankets at the foot of his bed.

"Well if you don't mind, stalker dearest, I need to shower." He stood up and stretched, walking over to his suitcase to pull out whatever pair of clothes happened to be on top of the pile.

"Just rifle through all my stuff or something, I'm sure that will keep you busy. Maybe you'll learn something new and interesting about me, you weirdo." Leon rolled his eyes, discretely selecting which drawers he was going to rip open first once the blond was out of eyeshot.

"I'll be out in a little bit."

Leon nodded as Cloud walked out of the room, presumably to the restroom. He was about to investigate the particularly inviting looking night stand when a buzzing noise was faintly heard from the center of the room. It was the distinct sound of a cell phone vibrating. The brunet glanced inquisitively at a pair of pants lying on the floor, as though Cloud had just walked right out of them, leaving them where they lay. Looking around, he quickly approached the pants, digging through the pockets before removing a thin, black phone. He stared at it as in buzzed in his hand, trying to identify it. It wasn't Cloud's phone; he knew Cloud's phone. The screen was informing him that "That Guy" was calling. Having not the slightest as to who "That Guy" was, Leon flipped the phone open, hesitating for only a moment before bringing the phone t his ear.

"Hello?"

The line was silent for a moment, the caller obviously not having been expecting an unknown voice to answer.

"_Who's this?"_

Leon kept the phone to his ear, tossing a contemplative look towards the corner of the room.

"Uh, Leon. Who's this?"

_"…Zack….How did you get this phone?"_

Grey eyes moved to the discarded pants in which he had discovered the phone.

"The pants on the floor."

A moment passed before Leon pulled the phone away from his ear, noticing that the line had gone dead, the other party had apparently not seen the conversation worth finishing. Shrugging to himself, the brunet started going through the phone, trying to figure out just who it belonged to. He found himself in the picture folder where there were numerous pictures of an assortment of people. He flipped through each of them, taking in the people from the pictures. Most of them were of a man with silver hair, though there were other reoccurring faces. One picture displayed a spiky dark haired man on the shoulders of a very tense looking red head. The man on his shoulders was precariously balancing a bottle on the top of his head while the red haired man had a bottle balanced on each of his open palms. The next picture was of the two men sprawled on the ground, and the next of the red head displaying his bleeding palms with a disgruntled look on his face. The brunette woman next to him seemed to be worried. Leon quirked a brow, wondering just what kind of people these were, and just what kind of person owned this phone. He continued browsing through the photo gallery until he opened one that made him slam the phone shut immediately. Nervously, he shifted his eyes around before cautiously reopening the phone, curiosity getting the better of him. Skimming quickly, he relocated the picture in question. It was of the silver haired man again. It was obvious with the angle of his arm and picture that he was the one taking it. He was shirtless and presumably pantless as well. Leon couldn't quite tell due to the mess of long black hair pooling in his lap, someone doubtlessly in the middle of a very intimate act. Leon blushed as he stared at the picture, his thumb clumsily pressing the next button. The next was of the pair mid-kiss, the silver haired man's green eyes cut to the camera and a smirk on his lips while the black haired man had his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of the picture being taken.

"Honey?"

Leon jumped half a foot in the air, the voice startling him far more than he was comfortable with. The phone was slammed shut once more and clutched tightly in his hand as he attempted to calm his racing heart, trying to keep the 'caught red handed' look off of his face.

His grey eyes lifted to Cloud's mother in the doorway. The woman was laughing into her hand at catching Leon so off guard, the idea of spooking him obviously amusing to her.

"Do you want some coffee?"

Leon looked down at the phone in his hand, regarding it for a moment before slipping it into his pocket and nodding.

"Please."

He did have some things he wanted to talk to her about.

**_33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33_******

Zack slammed on the brakes, releasing a frustrated groan as he once again gained too heavily on the car in front of him. If he had to guess, he would say the driver was in their late hundreds, as they were doing well below the posted speed limit of forty five. Fumbling his hand into the seat next to him to pick up his cell phone, he blindly pressed a number on his speed dial and waited impatiently for it to pick up. He didn't even give the person time to say hello before he inhaled a deep breath. "SOMEONE HAS CLOUD'S PANTS ON THE FLOOR!" "What? Zack? Is that--" Zack's mind blanked dumbly as he growled and hastily hung up the phone. He hadn't meant to call Tifa. He spared a look down at his phone to select the right speed dial this time, looking up just in time to avoid rear ending the car in front of him.

An irritated voice came over the receiver and Zack breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to actually talk to the person he was intending to call for a change.

"Seph! I called Vincent's phone and some guy answered it and said he found the phone in pants on the floor I don't know if they're Cloud's pants or if they're someone else's pants but why would someone else have Vincent's phone maybe—"

Zack flinched as Sephiroth's voice interrupted him.

"_ZACK. Shut up. If you want to speak to me, I want no more than seven words per breath of air, understood?"_

Zack frowned. There was a crisis at hand; he didn't have time to breathe. He consented, though, knowing that Sephiroth wouldn't hesitate to hang up on him should he refuse.

"_Now what are you talking about?"_

Zack inhaled a deep breath, pacing himself.

"I called Vincent's phone to talk to Cloud and some guy answered it. He said he found the phone in the pants on the floor…"

Sephiroth didn't answer for a moment.

_"…And you think I can tell you what's going on_?"

Zack gave a very thoughtful look at his sun visor before shaking his head and looking back at the road, switching hands to hold the phone with his left and drive with his right. Why had he called Sephiroth? He shrugged to himself.

"I dunno. Just figured I would tell someone. Maybe you would make me feel better about it."

Sephiroth laughed through the phone.

_"Oh. In that case, the man you spoke to was Cloud's cousin whom he lived with while he was away. He was passing by Cloud's room and just so happened to hear the phone ringing."_

Zack smiled, nodding in acceptance.

"No bullshit?"

_"Maybe some."_

Zack snickered, feeling slightly better at the thought that Cloud being abducted and raped wasn't the only option open.

"All right. Thanks, Seph. You always know just how to lie me into a good mood. Go back to screwing Vincent now."

_"I will, thank you. Let me know how Cloud's cousin is doing_."

The line clicked and Zack tossed the phone back over into the other seat, smiling. He was happy that he and Sephiroth were able to continue being friends after what had happened between them. After they had a long talk about the situation, they decided that they had been better off as friends anyway. Since then, they had gotten along better than they ever had. Few people were able to understand this, but they weren't exactly the sort of people that gave a shit about that kind of thing.

His hopes slightly renewed, Zack pulled into the beginning the familiar neighborhood, driving the short distance before parking in the Strife's driveway. He climbed out of the car, gulping in anticipation.

To his left, Aeris' mother was out watering the front lawn. He slinked up the driveway to the front door quickly, as not to get dragged into a long conversation as to why he should date her daughter. He'd only had that argument a dozen times.

Successfully blocked from the neighbor's view by the front porch, Zack raised his hand and gave a confident knock on the hard wood door. He had come by to visit Cloud's mother only a few times since the blond had left, though after she threatened to call the police on him, he had given up hope. It would seem that she resented him very heavily for "driving her baby away" and made no attempt to hide it. Back before Aeris could drive (and what a simpler time that had been), Zack hadn't been able to pick the brunette up without getting stared down by Ms. Strife the entire time he was in eyeshot. She'd even given him the bird a few times.

Fully prepared to dodge a pot, pan, or bullet, Zack steeled himself as the front door creaked open. The menacing mother he had been expecting, however, was not what he saw. No, it was worse. It was a man. An absolutely gorgeous man with rich, chocolate hair, stormy grey eyes, and a body to fucking die for. Mind, he was no Cloud, Zack noted, but he was breathtakingly hot none the less. His skin was incredibly tan, which is what Zack quickly realized with a state of panic. No, unless there were adoption papers involved, this man was not part of the Strife gene pool, and certainly no cousin of Cloud's.

"Can I help you?" Violet eyes snapped up from his musings as the god before him spoke, his low voice making him wonder if he had a chance in the world.

"Are you dating Cloud?" He choked as the words flew from his mouth, having only meant to think them obsessively.

A chocolate eyebrow rose in mild surprise, finding this man not only strange, unfocused, and blunt, but also to be the same person on the shoulders of the redhead from the mystery cell phone.

"He wishes."

Leon smirked. The answer must have caught Zack off guard, as his hand froze in the hair, his mouth still open.

"'He wishes'?" The raven haired man parroted, not exactly sure what to make of that response.

"As in…No?"

The brunet smirked and rolled his eyes, leaning heavily against the doorframe.

"As in no."

Zack took a moment to sort out the affirmation before a large, relieved smile stretched across his face.

"Oh thank God!" He brought his hands smooth his hair back away from his face, leaving them resting on top of his head and he gave a loud sigh.

Leon crossed his arms over his chest, a curious look coming over his face.

"Are you That Guy?"

The violet eyed man ceased in his inner celebration at the comment. He seemed taken aback.

He cocked his head to the side, and Leon couldn't help but smile. There was something endearing about this man.

"Excuse me?"

Leon repeated the question, though upon receiving a blank look in return, sighed and removed the cell phone from his pocket. Realization dawned on Zack's face.

"Ooooooh!!! Yea! Yea, I am that guy…..you should be more specific…"

Leon frowned, feeling a bit patronized.

"I wasn't being vague, your name came up as "That Guy" on the caller ID." He handed Zack the cell phone, showing him that it was, indeed, the truth. Zack grumbled, shaking his head and slipping the phone into his own pocket. He would have to let Vincent know that he was very funny. Leon looked slightly put off, as he hadn't gotten to finish going through the rest of the pictures yet.

"I'm going to guess that isn't your phone, then?" Zack shook his head, looking at his pocket as though he could see the cell phone though the fabric.

"No, it's Vincent's."

Leon was about to ask what he looked like, to see if he had guessed correctly in accordance to the pictures on it when a voice called out from behind him.

"Leon, dear, who is it?"

Zack's jaw dropped as the words were positively dripping with adoration. He had grown so used to Cloud's mother calling him a conniving, son-driving asshole that he had forgotten that the woman could be so pleasant. Once upon a time, when he was welcomed in the home, she had actually heard him digging through the kitchen at two in the morning and made him his own batch of cookies. He sighed, missing those memories. He had loved the Strife family, despite there being only two members. He still did, and probably always would.

Shaking out of the fond memories, Zack noticed Leon looking at him expectantly. He jolted into awareness, rubbing a hand on the back of his head and smiling apologetically.

"Sorry. It's Zack."

Grey eyes widened slightly, overwhelmed at finally being able to place a face to the man he had been hearing about for so long now. So this was Zack? He gave the man a look, viewing him in a whole new light. Yes, he supposed he could see what Cloud had been so crazy about. The man's easy attitude just seemed contagious. After all, he had never met him before, and here he was, holding a conversation with him, estranged as it may be. It was just hard to believe that this man had been the one who had rejected Cloud, the Zack that he had just heard an ear load about from Cloud's mother. Which reminded him…

"It's just some bible beater!" The brunet called over his shoulder, shrugging off of the doorway and stepping outside, closing the door behind him.

Zack raised a brow and dropped back to lean against the railing of the porch.

"So I'm going to say I'm still unwelcomed here?"

Leon leveled him with a very unimpressed look.

"You could say that."

The two men stood in silence, just looking one another up and down; one of them knew everything and then some about the man opposite him, while the other knew nothing at all in return. Zack almost felt violated, very aware of the fact that Leon had obviously been told all about him. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Is there anyway we could pretend I haven't been built up to be the shitty person that you've heard all about?" Leon looked at him.

"I'll consider it. Tell me what you're doing here."

Zack got the very odd impression that he was being viewed as he would by an older brother making sure their younger sibling wasn't making a horrible mistake. Well he'd been in that situation before and many an older brother had he charmed into his way of thinking. Still, there was something about Leon…something…weird. He had a feeling that lying to the brunet before him just wasn't going to fly.

"I'm here to see Cloud." He tried to ignore the way Leon rolled his eyes as he stated the obvious.

"I wanted to see if he would go somewhere with me today, just me and him before we all meet up later. I want to spend some time with him alone…and let him know how sorry I am, and how stupid I feel for fucking up like I did."

Leon held his silence for a time, seeming to be contemplating Zack's words. It seemed like an eternity, and Zack tried not to squirm under the intense gaze. He silently reminded himself that he had grown immune to Sephiroth's glare, and that this one should be no problem. He felt significantly better after than, though still uncomfortable.

"Very well." The brunet nodded, turning for the door.

"I'll go get Cloud. I want him home before eleven."

Zack's head tilted, confusion written plainly on his face.

"Okay…But the whole group of us are getting together around noon…it'd be cool if you came, ya know?"

Leon smirked, still facing the door.

"I'll think about it."

As the door clicked closed again, Zack was left staring at the decorative wreath handing against the glass, wondering what in the hell just went down.

It wasn't given long to consider it, however, when the door reopened, revealing a disturbed looking Cloud. Zack opened his mouth to great him, but he was cut off.

"What did you do to him?" Zack pulled his head back, closer to his neck as a puzzled expression overcame his face.

"Nothing, I thought."

The blond shook his head in bewilderment, closing the door softly as he stepped onto the porch.

"Well…it's not everyday that Leon shoves me out of the front door, informing me that he approves and that he would be happy to be the one to give me away at the alter…"

Cloud's eyes cut to the upper left as he waves waved his hand dismissively.

"There's something wrong with him…" he muttered under his breath.

"So where are we going?"

Zack stopped trying to digest the information just thrown at him, shaking his head and clasping his hand around his own forearm. He should have stopped trying to make sense of the situation when the stony brunet called him a bible beater.

"To the mall, I was thinking."

"Zack…it's seven in the morning. It mall doesn't open until nine."

Deflated, Zack tried to think his way around the proverbial roadblock. After the severe oddness of the morning, however, he just didn't seem capable. Cloud gave him a cool look.

"Come back at ten. I'll drive us."

With that, the blond marched back into his house, leaving a stunned and slightly hurt Zack on his front porch. What in the hell was he supposed to do until ten?

"Hi Zack!"

The raven haired man looked over his shoulder to see Aeris' mother waving at him excitedly.

Beggars couldn't be choosers, and, well…it was something.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

"So I noticed your car didn't move since we spoke last."

Zack tried to ignore the coldness of the words and the sarcastic glint in Cloud's eyes.

"No, I went over and killed time next store." A pale brow rose.

"Aeris is up this early?" A chuckle.

"No, talked to her mom."

"Nice."

That was the entirety of the conversation from Cloud's driveway to the mall. Zack spent the entire time twiddling his thumbs and opening his mouth to speak before deciding to remain silent. Inwardly, Cloud was dying of laughter at how awkward he was managing to make Zack feel. Who knew he could make Zack feel unsure of himself. Zack Fair, for Christ's sakes. It was kind of touching, in a weird way. He tried to keep the smile from reaching his lips, perfectly content with it living only in his eyes, which he had masked with a large pair of dark sunglasses anyway. It was these glasses that allowed him to continue to watch Zack's uncomfortable posture in the rear view mirror with out being noticed. He was being very cold to the man, and he was starting to feel a tad guilty. He was still unsure whether or not telling him to come back at ten and giving him the cold shoulder had been the right thing to do, but what was done was done; he couldn't go back and change it. Still, though, it seemed a little harsh. Mentally deciding to drop the attitude when they reached the mall, Cloud spared another glance at Zack before pulling into the large parking lot.

He was so much like he remembered him, but so different. He seemed much more in tune with the things around him now, as in his childhood he had been rather oblivious to even the most obvious. He was undeniably handsome, his youthful face and charming smile able to make Cloud just want to forget everything that had happened between them. What had occurred in the past had been between the Old Zack and the Old Cloud. Neither of them were those people any longer, and it seemed wrong to treat Zack like a leper because of something that happened so many years ago.

Cloud angled carefully into a parking space near the front of the aisle, not particularly caring to walk two hundred yards just to walk around even more in the mall. Shifting into park and killing the engine, Cloud unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to the dark haired man next to him, letting his sunglasses slide down his nose, exposing his large blue eyes over the tops. A sneaky smile fell in place on his lips.

"I hope you brought money. You are buying me something."

A monstrous grin slid instantly over Zack's face, his violet eyes bright and curious. "Should I be second guessing coming to the mall?"

"Are you second guessing your bank account?"

The only answer Cloud received was a mysterious look before Zack popped open his door and slid out of the car, stretching once he was out in the open. Cloud smiled to himself at just how easy it was to make Zack happy. If this is what talking to him did… He smirked and shook his head and got out of the car, locking it behind him. It was 10:30; he had exactly an hour and a half alone with Zack. It could be interesting. He had little doubt as to that.

Walking around the car, Zack fell into step next to him, watching the blond from the corner of his eye. Cloud seemed to be looking around at all the things he had forgotten, but it was rather hard to tell with those sunglasses.

"Can you take those off?"

A blond eyebrow raised above the edge of the frames, and Zack couldn't help but think that it would make a hilarious picture. Cloud in aviators was just…funny. Adorable, but funny.

"Why?"

"Because it's weird not knowing where you're looking, and I like seeing your eyes." Cloud was considering heeding Zack's request.

"And you look like Reno."

With the sunglasses securely banished to his jacket pocket, the two men entered the doorway of the plaza.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

Cloud couldn't believe just how quickly thirty minutes had flown by. He also couldn't believe just how wonderful it felt to be in Zack's company again. There was just something about the spiky haired man that made him feel so…good. So relaxed. He was shocked at himself, even, in how much of his time he had spent laughing like a fool, even when the things Zack said shouldn't have been that funny.

Zack was in heaven. He didn't know how he had gotten brownie points with God, but apparently he had accumulated quite a few over his time on earth if today was any sort of divine proof. Within the first few minutes of entering the mall, the pair had strolled into the pet store. Zack had instantly gone to cooing at a particularly moody looking Chihuahua, who saw fit to ignore him entirely. At Zack's crestfallen look, Cloud had laughed. It was a light, airy, beautiful laugh, and Zack decided he wouldn't be too averse to spending his entire life working to hearing that noise again. And so he had worked for the last half and hour at eliciting from the blond the sound in question, which he had been pleased to find was easier than he thought.

Zack gave an irritated glance at the clock on his phone, wondering why time didn't go this quickly when he was at work. Speaking of work…

"Hey Cloud, can we swing by my work? I need to pick up my paycheck, especially if I'm going to have to buy your affections." The blond snickered, wondering if he was actually going to make Zack buy him something, and if so, what it would be. Maybe that Chihuahua.

"Yea, where do you work?"

He stopped walking when he didn't get an answer, wondering why the dark haired man would avoid the question.

"Zack?"

The violet eyed youth grinned, looking down at the ground.

"The ice cream shop down by the food court. Don't laugh, though! It's a very respectable position."

Cloud snorted in the back of his throat, and it didn't take long for the laugh to push past his lips. Zack worked at an ice cream store? Somehow it was fitting, cute even. Maybe they could even get discount ice cream. Straining his memory, he couldn't for the life of him remember what the shop was called, not that he was sure it was even the same one still.

"You work in an ice cream store? What's it called?"

Zack pursed his lips, cocking a hip and crossing his arms across his chest before huffing and brushing past Cloud. The blond snickered at the mock-attitude.

"If you must know, it's called The Creamery."

"Because that's not suggestive at all…"

Zack glared at the blond's comment.

"Yea, whatever. Just, look, when we go by…I kind of called out sick so I could spend the day with you, so don't blow my cover, kay?"

Cloud nodded, still grinning to himself as he followed the other man in the direction of the ever growing scent of food. He noticed that as soon as they rounded the corner of the food court, Zack's pace slowed considerably. Apparently he had told his boss he was out with the plague or something, if his overly labored movements were any indication.

"Stop it, Zack." Cloud hissed as they grew neared to a shop proudly proclaiming itself as "The Creamery" in large, cursive letters.

"You look like about to die. At least be slightly believable….besides…" The blond looked around at the strange looks Zack was attracting.

"You're embarrassing me."

Zack waved his hand dismissively before forcing himself into a rough cough.

"Please, I see all these people everyday. Me and the kid from the pretzel shop even hang out sometimes. They know me; it's cool."

Wondering idly why having the flu would cause one to sport a severe limp, Cloud shook his head and followed the odd man in front of him, taking care to keep at least five feet away from him, though whether or not it was in support of Zack's act or his own self-image, he could no longer be sure.

He watched as Zack leaned dramatically against the counter of the shop, the dark haired man bringing a heavy hand to rest against his forehead. The man working did not seem to notice him yet, and if he did, he wasn't going to acknowledge it. Cloud took a moment to take in the man behind the counter, as he did not exactly look like he belonged at an ice cream shop. He was a tall man, obviously of Wutian decent with neatly kept, shoulder length hair and a small dot on his forehead.

"Hey..Tseng-Tseng, is—" Zack paused to 'steady' himself, as he had apparently just had a bout of dizziness overtake him. He smiled weakly, his frail voice clearing and continuing.

"Is the boss in?"

Tseng glared at Zack as he plopped an ice cream scoop into a metal jar of water.

"Hold on." Zack opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly as Tseng disappeared behind the swinging door in the back. The raven haired man flinched and turned to Cloud, smiling widely and giving a thumbs up. Cloud drew closer now that no one was watching.

"He doesn't seem to like you…" Zack smiled.

"I wouldn't like me either. I called about an hour before my shift started, and he had to fill in for me at the last minute." He rolled his eyes.

"For an ice cream shop, you would be surprised just how tightly it's run. The boss acts like we're some sort of militaristic corporation or something. I think he almost shit a hat when I told him I wouldn't be in today. He's like…from hell or something. Ice cream is like his family business, and he takes it way too seriously. Cute, though. Evil, but cute."

Muffled voices were heard and Zack's eyes widened. He quickly shooed Cloud away from him and draped himself back over the counter. Cloud pretended to be checking out the menu behind him, curious to see who this "Hell Boss" was. The door opened to reveal…not exactly what Cloud had been expected. It was a thin, young man with soft blond hair and cruel icy blue eyes.HH He wore a pristine white suit, which Cloud could not understand the logic behind, as it was just asking to be stained with ice cream. He was very petite, coming to the shoulder of the tall Wutian standing behind him. His face bore a childish pout that you almost wanted to consider adorable, if not for the fact that the kid looked like he would cut your throat.

"Why, Zackary, judging by your phone call, I thought you would surely pass away before the clock struck noon." He spared a glance at the clock over the burrito hut.

"Still have some time, I suppose."

He gave Zack a skeptical look, and Cloud could tell that he wasn't buying the sick act.

"Well, Rufus, ailing or not, the rent is still due." He took a few labored breaths.

"So is there anyway I could get my paycheck?" He finished the sentence with an artfully placed cough.

Cloud actually had to turn away and walk over to the sandwich shop so he could release the muffled laughter at the look on Rufus' face. He'd never seen one eye become so much larger than the other with little to no effort.

"You said the same thing last week, Zack. What kind of payment plan do you and your landlord have, exactly?" The dark haired man shrugged, bringing a hand to massage his temples.

"An abnormal one. If I could just get my check, that'd be awesome…" He entered a round of hacking, not bothering to cover his mouth. A mother holding her daughters hand had approached the shop, gave one look at Zack, and hastily walked on, presumably to the rival shop four stores down.

Rufus glared at Zack, watching as the woman did, indeed, take her business to "Slushy-Lord."

He grumbled and turned on his heel, pushing past the doors again. He returned a few moments later with two white envelopes and a frown on his face.

"I took the liberty of bringing Sephiroth's check as well, as I'm sure if you're this sick he must be positively bed-ridden." Cold blue eyes rolled, resting fondly on Tseng. He was the only employee he could truly depend on. The fondness faltered slightly.

"…Tseng…"

Black eyes darted up from strawberry sherbet to see Rufus staring at him expectantly. He stared back at him for a moment, not getting it. In the corner of his eye he saw Zack motioning wildly out of Rufus' line of sight. The dark haired man was pointing animatedly to his head. Realization dawning, Tseng sighed and pulled the humiliating article in question out form under the counter. Satisfied that the Wutian was in his obnoxious red visor, Rufus flicked the envelopes in Zack's direction, not bothering to look at him.

"Now get out of here before your fake germs contaminate my shop."

"Yes, sir!"

Hobbling off, Zack jerked his head at Cloud, signaling for the blond to discretely follow. This action was not lost on Rufus, however, who rolled his eyes and wondered, not for the first time, why he kept the man on his payroll. 

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

"I'm not gonna do it."

"Pleeeease!"

Zack's begging was truly a force to be reckoned with, Cloud found, as the two stood in front of a quarter-driven fiber glass pony. Cloud had been trying to convince Zack that riding it was not in either of their best interests, as there was doubtlessly a weight limit on the thing to start with.

Cloud knew he was little, but he also knew that he wasn't ninety pounds little. The fact that he was only missing the mark by some twenty or so odd pounds wasn't something he felt he needed to bring up, either. He rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone to text Leon without sparing Zack a look.

"Why don't you do it?"

At the question, Zack paused from his begging. This option had occurred to him, yes, but he just really preferred the idea of Cloud riding the thing. After all, someone had to operate the camera.

"Because I work here."

Cloud made an unconvinced face, not exactly sure what that had to do with anything at all, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He eyed the area around him, hoping to find something to distract the other man from the obnoxiously colored faux-horse. To his left he spotted a photo booth. It seemed dreadfully cliché, but it would work, no doubt about that. Besides, part of Cloud was a sucker for photo booth snapshots.

"Let's waste your money over there."

He inclined his head in the direction of the photo stand, and Zack seemed all too delighted to comply.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

The two men walked side by side down the walk way of the mall, Zack with his fingers laced behind his head and Cloud eyeing the ridiculous set of photos they had just purchased. They were rather funny, as during the first two shots neither boy had figured out where exactly the camera was. The third one was of them looking at each other, and the fourth displayed Cloud with an enlightened expression, presumably pointing at the camera lens. Zack's eyes weren't following the blond's finger, however, and were pointed more in the direction of Cloud's midsection.

Cloud smirked and gently slid the photos into his jacket, careful not to bend them on the way in. Now he had to think of an ingenious plan to keep all of them without Zack noticing. He eyed the black haired man out of the corner of his vision, taking in the relaxed stride and carefree posture. Zack was adorable. The blond's smirk turned a tad more deviant as a thought crossed his mind. Side stepping just a tad to the left, Cloud brushed his side against Zack's, wrapping an arm around to rest on the violet eyed man's hip. Zack froze only for a minute, the shock written plainly in his eyes before a wide smile spread over his lips and he draped his own arm over Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud smiled, eyes dropping to the ground, just enjoying the feel of being so close to Zack. He was pleased that the man hadn't felt it necessary to comment on the action, as the silent agreement struck Cloud as meaningful.

All his younger life he had watched Zack hold other people in just this way, and never had he imagined he would ever actually be the one in this position. He had dreamed about it, yes, but never realistically. He had always thought that if he were in this position, he would be shy and overwhelmed, but as the two strutted through the isle, he felt neither of those things. He felt proud, and he felt dominant. He had always imagined he would want Zack to keep him, to take care of him, but as he watched people looking at them, he changed his mind. He wanted to own Zack, and he wanted everyone to know it.

He felt Zack shift on his left, pulling his arm from his shoulders. He frowned slightly before he noticed Zack's purpose; the black haired man checked his watch before an attractive pout distorted his lips.

"It's 12:10. We're late…"

Cloud sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to see everyone else, he really did, but he had been enjoying his time with Zack. Smirking to himself, Cloud decided there was always later. He snickered as Zack replaced his hand around his shoulders, and tightened his own grip on Zack's waist.

"Think they'd be surprised if we walked up like this?"

If Zack had planned on answering, Cloud didn't know it, as he suddenly felt a hand on his ass, and judging by the look on Zack's face, he was experiencing quite the same.

"There you are, yo, we were getting worried you two drowned in the fountain or somethin."

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he recognized Reno's smug voice, and the pair turned to face the redhead.

"Hey, Reno, thanks for ruining our good time."

Reno stuck is tongue out at Zack before motioning over his shoulder.

"Wasn't my doing. I was elected for search party, but it seems you two weren't exactly in peril…" Green eyes fell to the close contact and Cloud's arm on Zack's waist. A sinister smile rolled over his lips, and Zack had a bad feeling.

"Hey Zacky…are you…" He shook his head, closing his mouth, much to the dark haired man's relief. Reno's eyes fell to Cloud before giving him an approving look.

"Kudos. Now let's go, I've got food waiting. For every minute I'm gone, Seph says he's eating a fry."

Zack grinned, knowing full well that Sephiroth's definition of "one fry" meant roughly half the box. Begrudgingly, he removed his arm from Cloud once more, and the blond reluctantly released him as well. Obviously taking the newly acquired space as an invitation, the red head slinked in between the two, draping an arm of each of their shoulders.

"Come, my lovelies, let me lead you away."

Cloud and Zack shared a look behind Reno's head, each rolling their eyes and allowing themselves to be led off by the deranged redhead.

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

"Mission accomplished! The Lost have been found, and delivered to safety."

Reno looked rather proud of himself, what with not only completing his task but also at having been the center of attention the entire way to the food court. It was hard not to stare, after all, when three men of their magnitude walked though public, and made certainly harder when they were hanging off of one another.

"Congratulations. You're out of fries."

Cloud smirked and Zack chuckled at Reno's sullen face as Sephiroth slid an empty carton of fries in their direction.

"Vincent!" Reno pointed accusingly at the thin, crimson eyed man.

"You were supposed to fend him off!"

Vincent shrugged, not exactly looking apologetic.

"You shouldn't have called me a woman this morning."

The red head's jaw dropped and he shrugged free of the Cloud and Zack.

"But you _are_ a woman!"

Cloud couldn't help but think that was the wrong choice in response, and he was proven correct when Vincent glared before swiping a hamburger, presumably Reno's, and handing it to Sephiroth. He gave the silver haired man a loving look.

"Enjoy, honey."

Reno grumbled, digging in his pocket to locate his wallet and stalking off to replace his stolen meal. Cloud watched the angry red head drag his feet and bump into a few people for a little while before shaking his head and pulling up a chair next to Aeris and Vincent. As he expected, Zack pulled up a chair in between he and Vincent, claiming his place next to the blond. Sephiroth gave Zack a questioning look, to which the raven haired man only grinned. Sephiroth gave a small smile and nodded his head before cutting his eyes to Vincent, who smiled as well. Cloud tried not to be disturbed by the fact that the three had just downloaded some sort of information without his knowing, but shook it off when Aeris giggled. He shook his head and pulled out two cell phones from his pocket, passing one to Vincent and checking the messages on his own. He read it, a thin lipped smirk forming.

"Leon's going to swing by in a second. He's heading out of town today and he wants to say goodbye."

"Who's Leon?" Cloud looked at Aeris before looking around at everyone else. He seemed to be contemplating something. Sighing, he sagged his shoulders.

"I don't ever, ever want to hear about this, got it?" Aeris nodded excitedly, while the rest of the group seemed perplexed. Except Sephiroth, that is, as he was distracted by his fourth box of chicken nuggets.

Satisfied with their answer, and the fact that Reno was no where in sight, he pushed his chair back slightly, propping a foot up on the table. At the action, Sephiroth gave him a disgusted look and pulled his food tray a little closer to himself. Cloud ignored it, working at rolling his pant leg up and pushing his sock out of the way. On his ankle there rested an obviously home made bracelet, the beads it adorned reading "C&L-BFFL!" Small hearts and star shaped beads decorated the thin rope, giving it a very childish feeling. Zack stared at the anklet, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Is that…what.." Cloud lifted a hand, halting Zack's stunned question.

"Yes. We made them a long time ago…Me and Leon…eh, we have an unusual friendship…"

"What do you mean?" Cloud looked up abruptly, blue eyes meeting stormy grey. He gave the brunet a guilty smile.

"We don't have an unusual friendship, Cloud." Leon seemed slightly offended.

"That's what friends are supposed to do."

Cloud looked unconvinced, before standing from the table, holding an arm out to the group still seated.

"Leon, these are my friends. You've met Zack. This is Aeris, Vincent, and Sephiroth. Lucky for you, Reno is away for the moment. Everyone…this is my girlfriend, Leon."

Leon glared.

"I'm not a girl, Cloud."

Cloud raised his eyebrow at the deadpan voice. He was about to refute when a strange look crossed Leon's face.

"..What?"

Cloud followed the brunet's gaze to a confused Vincent and oblivious Sephiroth.

"You're the two from the cell phone."

Vincent suddenly turned bright red, seeming to know instantly what Leon was referring to.

Cloud and Zack raised an eye brow, and Sephiroth moved on to Aeris' untouched Chinese take out.

"What's he talking about?" Zack asked, a sneaky glint in his eye.

"Nothing." Vincent answered, immediately. Zack didn't look convinced.

"Whatever, Vin." He made a mental note to find out eventually, as did Cloud.

"So, you going to sit down?" Cloud asked, having retaken his seat.

"No…I'm actually going to go to the bathroom." Cloud nodded, noticing a few moments later that Leon had not budged from his spot.

"I said I was going to the bathroom." Leon repeated, looking at Cloud expectantly. The blond didn't seem too inclined to indulge Leon on his usual girlish group bathroom trips at the moment, however, and Leon got the message loud and clear. A hurt expression broke over his face before he struggled with his wrist for a second, tossing a matching bracelet onto the table and huffing off towards the restroom. Cloud stared, shocked, at the retreating man. He shook his head, avoiding the disbelieving look he was receiving from Zack. He turned to Aeris, offering her a sarcastic smile.

"Can you believe that he's actually the straight one?"

Her eyes widened, this obviously striking her as news. Cloud smirked, dipping his head and excusing himself from the table.

"I'll be back."

It wasn't hard to find Leon, as men's restrooms weren't known for being labyrinths of any magnitude. Cloud found the brunet sitting in one of the waiting chairs in the restroom, which struck him as funny. Leon was the only person he had ever known to actually use the furniture supplied in public restrooms.

He sighed, taking a seat on the wicker loveseat next to his friend.

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever."

Cloud crossed his arms, wondering if he was going to half to break out the big guns in a men's restroom.

"Leon…"

The brunet huffed, turning away from the blond. Cloud released an over dramatic, heavy sigh. He reached over and snatched Leon's arm, holding it hostage and retying the best friends bracelet on the man's thin wrist. Leon didn't seem to be fighting the action, but he still was not exactly happy with the blond either.

"Leon…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snub you, I just haven't seen those guys in a while. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't important to me. Come on….Who's my girlfriend?"

Leon grumbled, shifting slightly, still not making eye contact.

"I am…"

Cloud cupped his ear, leaning in closely to the brunet.

"What, I couldn't hear you. Who's my girlfriend?"

Leon rolled his eyes, his face finally cracking a smile.

"I am, you idiot."

"Good…What are you looking at?" Leon looked up to see Cloud staring down a very disturbed looking man who had been watching the pair over his shoulder from the urinal. The man shook his head hastily and turned back to minding his own business, literally and metaphorically.

Cloud glared at the man a moment more before standing up, pulling Leon with him.

The two faced each other, glum expressions on their face.

"You all right?"

Leon shrugged.

"You're not going to come back, are you?" Cloud's mouth opened, but no words came out. He hadn't even thought about that. Did he really want to go back? Did he really want to stay here?

He offered the brunet a smile.

"I don't know. But you can bet that where ever I go I am dragging your deranged ass with me. So be ready to pack up and move at a moment's notice, kay?"

The brunet grinned, and shook his head.

"Kay."

They stood a moment more together before Leon grabbed Cloud, pulling him into a monstrous hug.

"Good bye, Cloud. I'll see you soon, all right?"

Cloud tried to nod in Leon's tight embrace.

"Duh. Now let's stop before everyone in this bathroom has a coronary."

Leon looked around to see that they had attracted quite a bit more attention this time. Even the urinal man was staring again. He frowned, tossing them the bird before linking his arm with Cloud's and turning them for the door. Cloud laughed and turned looked over his shoulder, giving the men in the restroom an attitude-filled look and mockingly snapping his fingers.

"Do you have to do that?"

Cloud elbowed the brunet.

"Yes."

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

After Leon left, the get together had gone just as Cloud expected. Reno made endless amounts of crude references to anyone and everyone in his vicinity while Aeris did her best to keep him in line. Vincent and Sephiroth were humorously affectionate to one another, and he and Zack got laughed at every time they held eye contact for longer than five seconds. He almost hated to admit that he was relieved when it was time to go, as he had genuinely enjoyed their time spent together, but there was something he and Zack needed to address alone.

Zack sat in the passenger's seat, pointing out directions and turns as they came up, excited that Cloud took up his invitation to see his apartment. He had just gotten the apartment a few months ago after having roomed with Sephiroth for a little over a year. Obviously, after what had gone down, the two had decided to stop living together, and kept it that way even after they patched things up. Vincent would have probably felt threatened were the two to live together anyway. Zack couldn't be happier that he lived alone now, either. Now when he brought someone over, he knew for a fact he wouldn't find his room mate sitting in the living room eating a frozen pizza, destroying the romantic mood he and his guest had been hoping for.

"That building."

Cloud followed Zack's finger to a detached one story section of apartments, pulling into the parking lot in front of it. It was a decent looking place, relatively new looking, as well as clean. From the outside, at least, Cloud noted. He remembered the perpetual state of chaos Zack used to maintain his room with, so there was no telling what would lay behind the front door.

It would seem he would soon find out, however, as the two got out of the car and Zack removed the key from his back pocket.

With the key inserted into the door, Zack paused.

"Hey, Cloud?"

The blond gave a hum in response, wishing Zack would hurry up and open the door. His eyes traced the line of Zack's spine.

"You know my car is still at your house, right?"

Cloud looked up in thought for a moment before shrugging, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around Zack's hand, unlocking and pushing open the front door. Zack's eyes widened as Cloud brushed past him, entering the apartment first. Cloud had decided in the last two hours that he would make Zack his, and he was not planning on wasting any time.

"Come on in." Zack stating sarcastically, laughing. He entered the house as well, closing the door behind him. The smile fell from his face, however, when he turned around to see Cloud a few inches from him, a knowing smirk drawn over his lips. Slowly, the smile returned to Zack's face, though it was a tad bit more nervous than he would have liked. The look in Cloud's eyes was so…possessive.

He shook it off and let a full grin spread over his face. He took a step forward, resting his hands on Cloud's hips.

"Yes? Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Cloud's eyes dropped to Zack's lips, and let one finger drag up the length of Zack's chest.

"Not exactly."

Zack smirked, lowering his face to Cloud's, looking him in the eyes before pressing their lips together. He had fully intended on politely dragging his tongue against Cloud's lips as way of permission, though he was surprised when the blond's tongue rammed into his mouth before he had the chance. He moaned, feeling Cloud's hands reached up to bury into his dark hair, pulling his face closer and allowing the blond's tongue to push deeper. Zack closed his eyes tightly, not exactly understanding what was going on. This wasn't how Cloud was supposed to kiss. Cloud was supposed to be submissive, shy, hesitant, even. As he felt his back make rough contact with the door behind him, Zack decided that he could live without any of those things, and could really enjoy not what Cloud was supposed to be, but rather, what he was.

He groaned as he felt smooth hands dig under his shirt, reaching up to his arm pits before a set of fingernails dragged back down to his waist, sending chills through his spine. The hot mouth removed itself from his and moved to drag its tongue over his ear and quickly down his neck, nipping softly along the way. Zack angled his head to nuzzle against Cloud's blond hair as the smaller man placed warm kisses on his chest through his shirt before growing irritated with the offending fabric. Zack obediently lifted his arms when Cloud moved to work the shirt over his head, bring them down as soon as it was removed. He moved his hands to clutch Cloud's forearms, pulling the blond as close to him as possible. He moaned as he felt Cloud's erection dig into his thigh, wrapping his arms around the man and backing him towards the futon in his living room. Cloud seemed to get the message and turned in Zack's embrace half way to the desired piece of furniture, clutching Zack's hand and leading him instead. Standing in front of it, the blond held Zack by the shoulders and pushed him to sit down on its edge. All too happy to oblige, Zack took a seat, violet eyes watching intently as Cloud backed up a few feet and began the slow process of pulling his shirt over his head. Blue eyes never left his as the shirt was raised inch by inch, and Zack felt his hardened cock twitch as a pair of pale nipples was revealed. Gods, the things he wanted to do to this boy, and the things he wanted this boy to do to him. Once the shirt was removed entirely, Cloud lowered his head, smirking and staring at Zack through his bangs. He watched the black haired man fidget for a moment before flicking the button to his pants open. He dragged the zipper half way down, teasingly, before abandoning the task all together, much to Zack's disappointment. He made up for it, however, when he slowly dropped to his knees, crawling towards where Zack sat on the edge. He smirked as he rested his arms in Zack's lap, placing a hot, wet kiss on his stomach.

He stretched upwards to capture a nipple in his teeth while he made short work of opening Zack's pants, while the dark haired man sat back and just enjoyed the feeling of all of it. Violet eyes cracked open when the mouth left his chest, and he looked down to see a head of blond hair moving downward. Those same violet eyes rolled back as he felt that impossibly hot mouth wrap around the head of his throbbing erection, applying light suction and swirling a tongue around the tip.

"Oh, God, Cloud…" Zack was barely able to get the words out as Cloud sunk deeper, taking more of his cock into his mouth. Hearing Zack's breathy call of his name, Cloud groaned, sending vibrating waves of pleasure through Zack's body. Cloud closed his eyes and hummed again as he felt Zack's hands shakily trail over his bare back. The hands clawed and grasped, sometimes roughly and sometimes gently. Cloud smirked around Zack's length, groaning again as Zack's hands trailed over his stomach. Cloud bobbed his head slowly, reaching blindly for one of Zack's hands. Upon finding it, he brought it to his own half way opened pants. Zack took the hint nicely, and even at his awkward angle, did his best to reach inside. He clasped Cloud's aching erection in his hand, pumping it slowly in time with Cloud's mouth.

Cloud moaned as Zack's thumb rubbed desperately at the slit of his cock, sucking a bit harder, enjoying the way Zack's concentration would break when he was caught up in pleasure. Zack's ministrations almost stopped entirely, the hand on his erection moving to a stop as he heard Zack moan out his name, warning him of what was to come. Cloud reached up to hold Zack's hips as he felt a rush of warm liquid fill his mouth, milking him to finish.

Smirking, Cloud released Zack's member from his mouth, moving swiftly up to capture Zack's lips in a rough kiss and crawling onto his lap before pushing them both down against the mattress. The blond's tongue lapped greedily at Zack's parted lips as he ground down against Zack's hips, his painful erection demanding attention.

Zack groaned at Cloud's movements, feeling his cock grow hard again already. He grew more aroused as he felt Cloud move back from him, tugging at his already opened pants until they came away form his body. With Zack's clothing entirely out of the way, Cloud moved above him once again, arching his body against the equally needy one beneath him, letting Zack feel just how hot he was. Zack grumbled something incoherent as he raised his hands, resting them on Cloud's thin hips only for a moment before he dug his fingers into the waistband of his pants, pushing them down as far as he could. Cloud's lips pulled into a smile against Zack's, shimming his body to remove them entirely while simultaneously rubbing their newly exposed erections together.

Zack continued to mumble something, causing Cloud to laugh light heartedly before nudging the raven haired man's legs apart. Zack complied readily, spreading them and allowing Cloud to slip between them. Violet eyes rose to meet sapphire as talented fingers trailed their way down his body, angling just so they brushed against his opening. Zack let his eyes slip shut as the first finger breached him, sliding smoothly into his body, stretching him and rubbing his internal walls. His breathing grew more ragged as Cloud added another finger, and he cracked open his eyes to see Cloud staring back at him intently. The blond gave an appreciative gaze down at the tanned body beneath him before lifting his eyes to glance as Zack's face. Lust filled violet was gazing back at him, urging him to go on. Hands found the sides of Cloud's face, pulling him into a kiss as Cloud worked his fingers a few moments more before removing them and pressing himself against Zack's entrance. He pressed slowly and cautiously into him, not wishing to hurt the other man. Zack rolled his eyes, trailing his hands to Cloud's ass and pulling him forcefully to him, burying Cloud to the hilt. Cloud released a loud moan as he filled Zack completely, turned on impossibly more by the action. Zack's moaned out his appreciation before smirking up at he man above him.

"I'm not going to shatter you know. Don't treat me like a virgin, at least let me keep some dignity."

Cloud smiled and shook his head, lowering his lips to drag along Zack's. Relishing the other man's lips with repetitive, small kisses, Cloud pulled out of Zack's body half way before sliding back inside once more. At the raven haired man's groan, he smirked, repeating the action with a bit more speed and force. Cloud felt heated hands travel up his sides from his hips, those hands coming to tunnel into his spiky hair. Grinning against swollen lips, the blond shivered, reveling in the feel of being inside of Zack's overheated body. He placed one more deep kiss on Zack's lips before quickening his pace considerably, much to Zack's delight. The violet eyed man groaned as Cloud pounded into him, the throbbing flesh inside of him striking him in a way that left him breathless and wanting. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as Cloud continued to slam against that spot inside of him, his own hands moving down to clutch the blond's shoulder blades. Cloud hummed in his pleasure, feeling a tell tale rise within his belly. He shifted his head to kiss eagerly at Zack's neck, moaning against the sweaty skin as he felt Zack's muscles tighten drastically around him. Chills ran through his body when he heard Zack's rugged, breathless voice grind out his name, feeling the body beneath him lock up before a hot liquid splashed against his stomach. Blue eyes slid closed as he felt his own orgasm sear through his sensitive body, leaving him limp and satisfied. Exhausted, the blond dropped down against the body under him, lying still for a moment before propping himself up on sweaty elbows to look down at Zack.

Zack smiled, raising a tired hand to brush the bangs from Cloud's eyes.

"Welcome home, Cloud."

**33 17 33 17 33 17 33 17 33**

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**A/N**: So there you have it. Another pointless story produced in the name of procrastinating on my major one. I'm rather irritated, actually, since my computer has a really bad habit of uploadin the ENTIRE CHAPTER in italics...which means when I take it out of that format, it wipes out everything that SHOULD be in italics, too...so I went through and added them back when I could remember, but I really just refuse to read this story ever again after having to proof it myself. So yea, my apologies. heh.

Let me know what you think, R&R and all that, you know. The usual.


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